


I waved goodbye to that heart of mine

by emperorpenguin (dortmundbvbbabe)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt Tito, M/M, Temporarily Unrequited Love, jealous Mat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-21 05:10:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 36,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14277600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dortmundbvbbabe/pseuds/emperorpenguin
Summary: Tito's been in love with Mat probably since he first met him. Being in love with Mat while they lived in two separate countries across several provinces, it was easy for him to ignore his feelings, but when they were drafted together, Tito knew that he was in trouble. He was in love with Mat. The problem was Mat wasn't in love with him. But Tito was his friend first and foremost and he'd always be there next to Mat no matter who he was with or who Mat liked, even if he was hurt in the process.





	1. Prologue: Draft Day

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the song "Fell in Love Without You" by Motion City Soundtrack. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy.
> 
> See end notes for more explanation of the tags.

Tito didn’t quite know when it had happened. In fact, he was probably in love with Mat for much longer than he even knew, but that was no surprise. Mat was like a magnet, people couldn’t help but be drawn to him. It was something that happened subconsciously, Mat attracted people without realizing it. Probably from the time Mat had greeted him in French by saying “Bon Matin,” Tito loved him. He didn’t know it at the time, but looking back it was so obvious that Mat would be the person that Tito could spend his life chasing after.

Of course, back then, when they were fifteen or sixteen, things were so much simpler. Mat was some kid that Tito would see a few times a year. They were just two kids who dreamed about making the NHL, a dream that seemed unlikely but nevertheless they held out hope. This was the hope that made Tito focus. If making the NHL was the end goal then Tito was okay with sacrificing things in the present. The ache of missing his brother’s birthday while on a road trip or the homesickness that came while in Shawinigan would all seem worth it once he made the NHL. Making the pros didn’t come without sacrifices, Tito knew that so all the crushes that came and went after never being acted on seemed trivial. Then again, all those crushes that came and went weren’t Mat. 

Ever since Ivan Hinkla, Mat was a constant in Tito’s life. At first, they’d texted occasionally. Mat wrote to him in French and always had helped out bridging the language barrier between the quebecois and the other Canadians on the team. But the universe kept bringing them back together for World Juniors. Slowly, Mat evolved from being a good hockey friend to being a good friend. They’d won Ivan Hlinka, but since then, they hadn’t won together. He’d hated the feeling of third place in the World Juniors. He was used to losing, but even after all these years, the feeling never really went away. Mat hated losing too, but he didn’t internalize it in the same way that Tito did. Besides, Mat had racked up twelve points in the tournament, he had a performance to be proud of. Tito, well, he went home and spent hours shooting at the practice goal at his billet parents’s house. 

Every time that he was put on a team with Mat the feelings that he buried in between tournaments resurfaced. Mat was an intangible, a question mark that Tito didn’t have an answer for, but every time he returned home from seeing Mat, he buried his feelings again. Acting on those feelings, if he ever did, could be shelved. There was no sense of urgency to act on them. Mat was on the other side of the country for most of the year and their friendship survived on Snapchats and video calls, that was enough.

But then the draft happened. Tito didn’t believe in signs. He wasn’t particularly superstitious either, but if he was, surely being drafted 16th and 28th overall by the same team was a sign. He had expected Mat’s name to be called earlier and even though Mat hadn’t said anything, Tito was certain that Mat had expected to be drafted higher. The past year hadn’t been fair. Mat’s injury had stalled his progress and Tito had felt helpless after getting pics of Mat resting while his teammates were away on trips. He couldn’t do anything to speed up Mat’s recovery and the fact that he was able to play while Mat couldn’t didn’t seem fair. But as Tito heard his name called 28th overall, he wondered if it had all happened for a reason. If Mat had been healthy, he would have been picked sooner. Tito knew how talented Mat was, he knew the scouts knew how talented Mat was and he knew the Islanders had made a good choice. Tito had put on the jersey and the snapback that they’d tossed at him and made his way to the press conference where journalists were busy covering the draft. Tito was shepherded through the questions, offering pre-prepared answers and hoping that he didn’t forget any English words. 

“How does it feel that Mat Barzal has also been drafted by the New York Islanders?”

“I’m excited. Mat’s a good friend of mine. We’ve played together before, and I’m excited that we’ll be playing together and, uh, hopefully bringing a cup to New York.”  
By the time that Tito was allowed to return to his hotel room, he was exhausted but happy.

_ Are you still up? _ Mat texted.

_ I don’t know if I can sleep _ . Tito replied. 

_ I’m coming over. _

Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was a knock on the hotel door. Tito opened the door and Mat barged in. “I’m so excited,” Mat said, pulling Tito in for a hug. 

Tito staggered back but tightened his grip on Mat, “Me too. I didn’t think…”

“Fuck, I can’t believe it, we’re going to New York together. We’re gonna win a cup together, you know,” Mat said.

Tito wanted to ask how Mat could possibly promise that, but Mat’s enthusiasm was so bright that Tito didn’t dare question it. He smiled and Mat sat on the bed already pulling up some tourist destinations near the Barclay Center and making hypothetical plans. Tito sat back against the headrest and looked at the pictures that Mat was showing him. Mat was taking a lot for granted, that they’d both be healthy, that the contracts would work out, that they’d stay up, but Tito was excited. He knew though, as he listened to Mat talk about the plans for the future that his pesky feelings that he’d tried so hard to push aside would be resurrected. He could hide them for a few weeks every year when they played on the same team, but being on the same professional team was different. He knew that he was in trouble. He also knew that he would always need Mat more than Mat needed him. But for that moment, he allowed himself to bask in the excitement of being drafted together. Everything else could be put on pause. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is still kind of part of the intro, but it covers the 2016-2017 year. Things will pick up starting in the next chapter.

The summer after the draft, Tito and Mat communicated almost everyday in some form at least. Mat was buzzing with excitement every time that Tito had talked to him. He was still in the process of fully recovering from the injury that had sidelined him during the draft year, but from everything Tito had heard, Mat was making good progress. Without a doubt, they were going back to the junior leagues in the fall. Only a few, like Connor McDavid, made the seamless jump to the NHL, but Tito knew that even after being drafted he’d be in the junior league again. Mat wasn’t thrilled about it, Tito knew that a part of him had held out hope that being drafted in the higher end of the first round would have at least sent him to Bridgeport, but Mat didn’t complain or if he did, Tito wasn’t privy to it. They were friends, becoming even better ones, but Mat didn’t show his vulnerabilities to Tito. And that was fine, but it wasn’t easy for Tito. 

He’d moved to the New York not really knowing anyone, sure the guys were nice and welcoming, but there was a significant difference between being a nineteen year old kid and a married family man like so many of his teammates were. His English had improved, but there were times that his mind would blank out on a word. Speaking English all the time was exhausting, there were days when he’d go back to his hotel room and collapse just because of mental exhaustion. And Mat wasn’t there for any of it. 

There were some days that all Tito wanted to do was call Mat up and complain about his day. They were drafted to the same team and lived similar lifestyles and Mat would understand. But the problem was that Tito was in New York and Mat was back in Seattle. Even though Mat claimed to be okay with going back to the Thunderbirds, Tito remembered how crushed Mat had been when the coaches told him that he was heading back to the WHL. Tito felt uncomfortable complaining to Mat because he knew that Mat was dying to be here. He wasn’t ungrateful for the opportunity, but it was hard, he just couldn’t tell him that. 

Then in December Mat was called up for the World Juniors and Tito was still being bounced between Bridgeport and New York. Mat had called him up after Tito had seen the roster and sent him a congratulatory text.

“Hey,” Mat said. 

“Congratulations!” Tito exclaimed. 

“Thanks, it’ll be good, you know. Won’t be the same without you though,” Mat said.

“Maybe you’ll win this time,” Tito joked even though it fell flat.

“We have even less of a chance,” Mat replied. They didn’t talk about their sixth place finish. Maybe Mat truly thought that Tito had been an asset, but Tito knew that he’d been lackluster. A part of him had wanted to be called up for the tournament again. He knew that the NHL was where everyone wanted to end up, but he had hoped that he’d get a chance to rewrite the end of his junior career. He’d wanted to bring home that gold with Mat by his side.  

“Nah, you’ll bring home the medal,” Tito replied.

Mat paused for a second. 

“Is everything okay?” Tito asked.

“Yeah, I just… are you planning on coming to see a game?” Mat asked.

Tito paused. He knew that they were playing right by his hometown. He’d thought about going, too, but there was no stability in his life right now. He didn’t want to promise and get Mat’s hopes up only to cancel last minute. 

“I’ll be watching all the games, I promise,” Tito said noncommittedly.

“I just thought you might be in the area for Christmas,” Mat said.

“I don’t know if I’ll even be called up then.”  
“Are they talking about sending you back down?” Mat asked. 

Tito shrugged even though Mat couldn’t see. “I mean, it’s not shocking.”  
“They’d be fucking stupid to do that,” Mat said surprising Tito with his defensiveness.

“I mean, I’d get more playing time,” Tito said.

“Yeah, but you’re made for the NHL,” Mat said.

“So are you,” Tito replied. “You’re gonna be here next year, you’re killing it this year.”

“You think?” Mat said. 

“I would,” Tito said. There was a muffled yell on the other end of the phone and Tito knew that the conversation would be wrapping up. 

“Shit, I gotta go, but thanks for calling,” Mat said.

“They’re really lucky to have you. Hey, if we don’t talk before, uh, Merry Christmas,” Tito said.

“Thanks,” Mat said and Tito could hear the smile in his voice. 

 

The way things worked out, the Islanders had a break around New Years. Mat had been sending Tito snaps from the tournament and Tito had double checked the schedule to make sure it was okay to fly out for a game. He’d been back home for Christmas and his parents had mentioned maybe going to see a game or two of the tournament. Tito missed the excitement that he’d had the year before when he’d been getting ready for the tournament and now a lot of his friends and old teammates were preparing without him. Besides he  _ missed _ them. He missed Mat more than he’d thought or wanted to admit.

So Tito flew out, ready to catch a game and fly back early the next day. He’d texted Dylan, who’d been remarkably unhelpful, to double check the hotel they were staying at and see when they’d be there. If Dylan was surprised he didn’t let on, but Tito knew that he had other priorities than his visit.

He’d felt odd entering the lobby and seeing some of the Team Canada players sitting in the lobby chairs. His eyes immediately searched for Mat and saw him in the middle of conversation with Mitch Stephens who was the first to see Tito. He elbowed Mat out of his sentence and nodded over to divert Mat’s attention. 

“You came?” Mat nearly yelled when he saw Tito. He strode across the lobby and hugged Tito. 

“Yeah, I wanted it to be a surprise,” Tito said as he hugged Mat back. He could feel the stares of the other Team Canada members. Some who knew them both and others who’d been called up for the first time. 

“I didn’t think you’d make it,” Mat said.

“I can’t stay long, but I mean, I wanted to be here,” Tito said. _I wanted to see you_.   
In person Mat looked really good. He looked happy. He quickly waved off his teammates, telling Tito affectionately that he was getting sick of them and pulled Tito to the side for their own conversation. 

They caught up, Tito told Mat about some of his favorite restaurants in New York that he thought Mat would like. Once again they talked as though the plans were definite. In Tito’s mind they were. He knew that his position with the Islanders wasn’t solidified, but he hadn’t been exaggerating that Mat would be with the team next year. 

Their conversation ended when the team was corralled for video review and Mat looked chagrined to go. Tito knew though that he wouldn’t be occupying much of Mat’s time, his parents had come down and Tito was set to grab dinner with them and see the game. 

“Good luck tonight,” Tito said.

“Thanks,” Mat said. 

Sure enough they won. The team that Tito saw had the potential to win in all. This was going to be their year, he knew it. Part of him felt sad watching them congratulate Carter at the end of the game, knowing that he wasn’t a part of it, but he was happy for Mat. Mat deserved it. He deserved the win. 

 

They talked a little more that night even though Taylor Raddysh, Kale and Dylan had all parked themselves in Mat’s room. It felt natural, though, Tito thought, as he caught a glimpse of what it would be like when they were both on a team together. It felt good.

“Win it all, yeah?” Tito said in the morning as he hugged Mat goodbye before heading to the airport for his flight back. 

“I’ll try.”

“Channel your inner Eberle,” Tito said and Mat grinned. 

  
  


Except they didn’t win in all.  _ Sorry _ . Tito texted as he watched the heartbreaking gold medal game end on his laptop. It wasn’t enough, but he knew that Mat probably wouldn’t want to talk any time soon. It was almost worse to finish second than to finish sixth like the year before. This was it for Mat. There wasn’t going to be a next year. 

It took a few hours for Mat to respond.  _ Thanks _ ,  _ thanks for coming, too _ . Tito didn’t really know how to respond. Mat was hurting from the loss and Tito couldn’t do anything. But next year would be different, Tito promised himself. 

_ I wouldn’t have missed it _ . Tito settled on as a reply and sent it off to Mat. Mat didn’t reply afterwards. 


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the year wasn’t great for Tito. He was bounced back and forth between the AHL and NHL and the Islanders were definitely not going to make the playoffs. Even though the statisticians had given them a marginal chance to make it, but it required other teams to lose almost every game and for the Islanders to win all of theirs. Tito was a generally positive person, but he was realistic. There was no way they were going to make it. 

Mat, on the other hand, was tearing it up in Seattle. He’d been aloof after World Juniors, still smarting from the loss that Tito hadn’t experienced. The sixth place finish had been embarrassing, but a second place finish was painful. They had been so close and yet they’d been denied the win. Tito tried his best to follow the Thunderbirds from New York. He found himself spending an embarrassing amount of time on the Seattle Thunderbirds YouTube Channel, not that he’d ever admit that to Mat. He knew that Mat was following the Islanders season but it was different. Mat was going to move here eventually, these would be his teammates; Tito didn’t care for anyone else besides Mat. 

And then before he knew it the season ended and he was heading back home and Mat was fighting with his team for the championship. Mat had pushed his team to the postseason and even though he was the first to celebrate his teammates accomplishments, Tito knew that he was a large part of the reason for their success. As the Thunderbirds inched closer to the finals, they were getting more press. The Islanders coverage had shifted from the team to some of the prospects who were continuing in the offseason. Headlines and excitement surrounded Mat as he continued to succeed across the country. Tito texted Mat before every round wishing him luck, but Tito knew that he was just one of many sending Mat encouragement. Besides, Mat was too busy captaining the team and focusing on the next game to go too much into detail, nevertheless he didn’t fail to reply to Tito’s messages.

And the Thunderbirds won, and Mat got the airBC award for his hand in the victory. Tito called him up a few days after the win, having seen the photos on Instagram of Mat raising the trophy above his head. Mat had finally gotten his win, even if it was without Tito. By now, the world was starting to fall in love with Mat and Tito was watching. There was a sense of pride in the fact that the rest of the world was starting to realize what he’d known all along. Mat was good. He was elite and he now deserved his place on the Islanders roster.

 

That summer a few things happened. Tito spent more time in the gym, enough that Francis even thought it was a little much, Mat was predicted to be a star at camp, with now the hopes of the long-suffering Islanders fans now turned towards him, and Jordan Eberle was traded for Ryan Strome. 

_ We got Eberle!!! _ Mat had texted when he heard the news. 

_ I know! _

Instead of texting back, Mat called him. “Oh my God, can you believe Edmonton gave him up?”  
“I mean there have been trade rumors for a while,” Tito said.

“I know, but  _ we  _ got him,” Mat said. “Like did you see him at World Juniors?”

“Yeah, I watched the same game that you did.”  
“Yeah, but that was Canadian history,” Mat gushed. Tito rolled his eyes. Sure, he liked Jordan Eberle from what he knew about him, but he didn’t think as highly of him as Mat did. He didn’t even really know him or know people who did, but he was happy with the trade. Mat, though, was over the moon.

 

They talked throughout the rest of the summer, Mat had his day with the cup and posted the photos on Instagram of him with his teammates celebrating the high off of the win. Tito continued to work out, packing on extra muscle, building up speed and stamina, and trying his best to stay up with the team. He had expectations for this year. He had to believe that there was a reason that he and Mat were drafted together and he promised himself that once they were settled, he would do something about it. He’d accepted sometime in July after months of not having seen each other that his feelings weren’t going away. Everytime that Mat sent him a Snap or a text, Tito’s face lit up and even his parents and Francis were starting to notice. 

“Tito has a girl,” Francis said over breakfast after Tito had just opened up a Snap from Mat.

His mom looked at him with interest and Tito put his phone away, “Shut up. I do not,” Tito said, “It was just Mat.”

Francis looked at him with curiosity and teasing smile.  _ Fuck you _ . Tito mouthed. Francis just cackled in return. “Say hi for us.”

Tito rolled his eyes and when his mother’s back was turned he flipped Francis off. 

“Seriously, though, are you guys gonna live together next year?” 

“I don’t know. I mean there’s no guarantee that we’ll both even make the team.”

“Of course, he’s gonna make the team,” Francis said.

“I wasn’t really talking about him,” Tito murmured. 

“Oh,” Francis said. He had been supportive, Tito’s whole family had been since he’d been drafted, but even Francis, who understood the hockey lifestyle the best out of all of them, didn’t understand the uncertainty and instability that Tito faced. “But like, at least you’d both have a place there.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Tito said non-committedly. 

The idea grew on him though as the summer went on. His priority was, of course, though making the team, but the idea of living together sounded fun. Tito knew the ulterior reason was  largely driving this no matter how much he tried to make excuses to himself or reason his way out of his crush, but this way, neither of them would be lonely. 


	4. Chapter 4

Tito flew into New York a little earlier than most of his other teammates to try and squeeze in a few workouts before camp started and get reacclimated to the hustle of New York. Mat was coming closer to camp; his mother had wanted him to stick around as long as possible because of the very real possibility that Mat would be moving to New York permanently in October. His suitcase remained packed at the foot of the bed, much like it did during the season. He’d hung up a few suits and his favorite pair of jeans, but his hotel room didn’t look well-lived in. Unpacking and making plans to stay almost seemed like a jinx. 

He and Mat had been trying to make plans to meet, but Mat had been volleyed between some of the veterans who had been keeping tabs on the wunderkind from Vancouver throughout the season.They, of course, had seen each other at team dinners, but they hadn’t really spent a ton of time together.

It was just when camp was beginning and things started to settle into routine that Tito actually got to spend time with Mat. They were all crammed into two locker rooms vying for just a few spots on the team. It felt natural to see Mat there in the dressing room, pulling on his pads and joking around with the other guys. Mat deserved to be there, Tito wanted him there. He followed him out onto the ice and watched from behind as Mat heaved a sigh.

“You got this,” Tito said and clapped a gloved hand on Mat, and shoved him out on the ice. He followed him through the puck-handling drills feeling the intense gaze of the coaches who were mentally crossing players off their list. Of course, there were some people who were definitely going to make the team. Even though the coaches said that players had to earn their spot on the roster each year, Tito knew that people like JT and Jordan had already made it. There were a solid fifteen players that Tito knew would be back from last year. It just put all the more pressure on the rest of them to fight for the remaining spots. He knew that his wasn’t guaranteed. 

They made their way through the conditioning drills and by lunch his legs burned. Josh had thrown up once in the gym from the rigor and Tito had almost done the same. No matter how much he’d worked out or how in shape he was the conditioning drills always tested him, pushing him to the brink of what he was capable of doing and even beyond.

Mat, though, didn’t seem worse for wear afterwards. After the coaches had left and they were alone, Tito had all but collapsed on the ground with some of the others, dropping the facade that they had put up in front of the coaches. 

Mat had leaned down and slapped a hand across Tito’s stomach. “You good?”  
Tito laughed in between trying to catch his breath, “Yeah, you?”  


They ate lunch mostly with the other rookies. It wasn’t particularly segregated between veterans and rookies, but naturally the younger guys had more in common with each other than the married guys who had kids. Tito felt comfortable amongst the guys he knew from Bridgeport and last year’s training camp. They were a little rowdier and still got caught up in the rush of the city. Mat fit in with the rest of them even though he didn’t know them as well as Tito did. 

It was subtle, but Tito saw Mat sneak glances over at Jordan Eberle who was in the middle of conversation with JT. In all honesty, Tito hadn’t been sure how Jordan would fit in, he’d seen some guys a little quiet when they first arrived, still smarting from the rejection of the trade but Jordan seemed okay. He’d had all summer to get used to the trade, but still Long Island was different from Edmonton. 

They had a few minor things to do in the afternoon, mostly just different tests from doctors, but Tito was ready to say goodbye to the rink by the end of it.

“Want to grab coffee later?” Tito asked Mat as they went to leave.

“Uh…” Mat’s eyes trailed after Jordan who was headed to his car. “Yeah, sure, can you take me back to the hotel afterward?”  
“Of course.”

There was a small cafe near the hotel that Tito had come to frequent before heading to practice. He drove them there knowing that they’d get some privacy during the afternoon lull. Mat got them a table while Tito ordered two coffees adding just cream to his and cream and a few sugars to Mat’s. 

“Thanks,” Mat said as he took his cup from Tito.

“Did I get it right?” Tito asked.

“Yeah,” Mat said, “You remembered.”  
Tito rolled his eyes, “Of course. I feel like I haven’t seen you at all.”  
Mat laughed, yes, Tito knew that they’d just been at practice together and had had been at team dinners, but it was different. They hadn’t felt like MatANDTito since they’d been in New York.

“I have a good feeling about this,” Tito said.

“I don’t want to jinx it, but yeah, I do, too,” Mat agreed with a small smile. Practice had gone well. Mat was in better shape than some of the veterans, he was making perfect passes and had scored on Greiss a few times and Tito knew that he was establishing himself in the right way to stay in New York.

“They’ll definitely pick you,” Tito said. 

“You don’t know that,” Mat said.

“I’m just a little worried,” Tito admitted. 

“If they send you down, they’ll definitely send me down,” Mat said.

He felt a tinge guilty saying this aloud to Mat who hadn’t had a season with the Islanders yet, but even if Mat didn’t believe it, Tito knew that Mat was better than him. He’d just had a run of bad luck with injuries, but Tito truly believed that management had made a mistake by sending Mat to Seattle. They wouldn’t make that mistake again. But with Tito, he was good, but there were plenty of other good players at camp that would be sent back to the AHL, all he could do was hope to not be one of them. 

“Hey, I was thinking, do you know what you’ll do for housing for the season?” Tito asked. 

Mat looked at him with a smirk knowing that Tito was deliberately speaking in definitives, “Uh, yeah, I was talking with JT and some of the guys and I was planning on staying with one of the vets. Sieds and his wife offered.”

Tito froze as Mat continued on about the reasons it made sense to stay with a vet and how it would help him adjust and that his mom was on board. He couldn’t fault Mat, they had made no definitive plans to live together and Tito hadn’t even suggested it. 

“What about you?” Mat asked.

“I mean, if I’m still here, I’ll probably get an apartment.”

“Cool,” Mat said. 

“Yeah,” Tito said, but the conversation had soured and Mat didn’t seem to notice. They stayed a little while longer before Tito drove Mat back to the hotel and Tito went to his room. “ _ Fuck, _ ” he murmured. They hadn’t even started the season and already things weren’t going his way.


	5. Chapter 5

The news that he’d made the team was dampened by the housing situation. He’d complained to Francis, hoping that his brother would empathize, but Francis just laughed at him. “You can’t be mad at him. He didn’t even know that you had this whole year planned out,” Francis said. 

Deep down, Tito knew that Francis was right, but it wasn’t just the change of plans, it was the fact that it had never even crossed Mat’s mind. Mat had thought about living with Dennis Seidenberg, who was nice, but not someone that Mat seemed to have a lot in common with, before he had even considered living with Tito. That was the part that hurt the most, though.

“Don’t let it get you down, though,” Francis said, “You’re on the team. You both are on the team.”

“Yeah,” Tito said. 

“Mom and Dad said their coming down for the first game of the season,” Francis said.

“They are?” Tito said actually excited for the first time since the conversation started. 

“Yeah, Mom’s been missing you,” Francis said. 

“Aw, I’m the favorite child after all,” Tito said.

“I take it back, they’re just going for the shopping,” Francis said but Tito could hear the smile in his brother’s voice. 

“Hey, thanks,” Tito said. 

“You’re welcome. Just-” Francis cut himself off. 

“What?”

“I just want you to have fun this year.”

“I will,” Tito said. 

 

Tito tried to be one of the first ones in the dressing room. He took his time getting changed, taping up his sticks, and listening to some music before heading out onto the ice. He was next to Josh towards the edge of the locker room just a few stalls down from Mat. 

“Hey,” Mat said as he pulled Tito’s headphones off. 

“Hey,” Tito said with a grin. Mat had just arrived with Seids still with enough time, though, to not be rushing.

“ _ Have Fun =) _ , _ ” _ Mat read, “Cute.” 

Tito rolled his eyes, Mat wasn’t the first to tease him about his sticks. “It’s better than just your name and number,” he shrugged. 

“I think I’ll stick with being boring,” Mat grinned.

“You’re far from boring,” Tito replied as Mat just walked away.

He turned to his left to see Josh just staring at him. 

“What?”

“Nothing,” Josh said as he shook his head to himself and busied himself with taping his stick. “Looks like Mat’s really getting along with Ebs.” 

Tito’s face fell. “What?”

Josh tilted his head towards Mat who was busy talking to Ebs. He was closer than he needed to be, laughing at something that Ebs had said and gently placing a hand on his arm.

Something ugly settled in the pit of Tito’s stomach. It didn’t mean anything. He and Josh were friendly, but Tito had no interest in him. He was close to Quiner and some of the guys who’d been sent to Bridgeport. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Tito said and focused on putting on the rest of his gear.

 

While some of the other lines were getting solidified, Tito was still being shopped around. He was put on a line with JT, but it wasn’t a great fit. They had different playing styles, JT was always a few steps ahead of Tito and there were some plays that JT had started that Tito couldn’t finish. The team was patient with him, JT was sympathetic and gave him time and extra communication, but it was Tito’s own expectations that he was letting down. Besides, that patience would expire at some point and he just didn’t know when.

“Lunch?” Tito asked after practice.

“I was actually gonna grab lunch with Ebs,” Mat said with an apologetic smile. “Tomorrow, though?”

“Sure,” Tito said.

“Want to talk about it?” Josh asked after Mat had walked away.

“Nothing to talk about,” Tito said. 

“Lunch though, there’s a new taco place that opened up that I want to try,” Josh said.

“Okay, sounds good,” Tito said.

  
His friendship with Josh was easy and uncomplicated. The only thing he didn’t like was Josh’s perceptiveness. He wasn’t sure why exactly, but Josh knew how to read a room better than almost anyone that Tito knew. Maybe that’s why he felt comfortable enough at lunch to talk to him. Not about everything, even though Tito was pretty certain that Josh knew almost everything about him and his pathetic crush. 

“You know, don’t you?” Tito asked.

Josh set his taco down and wiped his hands off. “About…”

Tito glanced around, “That I’m… you know.”  _ gay _ . He mouthed.

“I didn’t,” Josh said, “But thank you for telling me.” 

“Really? I thought you knew? You always know everything,” Tito said. 

“Firstly, I don’t know  _ everything _ , I’m just a little more observant than some people. And no, I’m not shocked, I wondered…” Josh said after a pause. “I didn’t really see you with anyone or hear about a girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah,” Tito said unsure what else to say. 

Instead the conversation shifted to movies and Canada and predictions for the junior league and Tito felt himself relax. 

  
  


“Thanks for being cool with this,” Tito said after they wrapped up lunch and they headed to their cars. 

“Were the others not?” Josh asked.

Tito frowned, “They don’t know. I mean my brother does. I’m pretty sure my parents know even though we’ve never actually talked about it, but nobody on the team knows.”

“Hm…” Josh said. “If the day comes where you want to tell them, I think they’d take it really well. But that’s only if  _ you  _ want to.”

“Thanks Josh,” Tito said as he leaned over to hug him. 

He lingered in the car for a few moments after Josh had left the parking lot and smiled to himself. Even after today, Josh didn’t know the whole story, Tito wasn’t ready for that conversation, if it would ever happen. Besides his crush on Mat did affect Josh even if tangentially. But for now, someone on the team knew, and that was a hell of a lot easier to share a secret with another person than to keep it to himself. It was just too bad that Josh was sent back down in October. 


	6. Chapter 6

Josh’s demotion served as a wake up call for the rest of them. He hadn’t had a great start to the season, sure, but it certainly wasn’t horrible and if management was willing to send Josh back down, Tito knew that they wouldn’t spare a second thought for him to be sent back to the AHL. Tito’s mood had soured since Josh left. Not only was he missing his friend, but now he had a front row seat for whatever the hell was going on between Mat and Jordan. It was selfish, but having Josh around had been a distraction for him, but without Josh, Tito had hockey and Mat.

 

Sensing Tito’s frustration, Mat had given him a berth of space, but it wasn’t a typical mood that Tito could just snap out of on his own. Worse yet, Tito’s own play was suffering. His season was starting out with a sluggish start. It wasn’t how he had imagined his sophomore season going and there was the thought in the back of his mind that Mat was responsible, if indirectly. He’d been so good, so focused when Mat had been back in Seattle, but now that Mat was here, hockey was competing for Tito’s attention. Mat had insisted on grabbing lunch though after practice, hoping to shake Tito out of his funk. 

“It’s kind of weird, you know, not knowing how long we’ll be up here,”  Mat said as he picked at his sandwich. This was after Mat had scored his first NHL goal less than two weeks ago and showed no signs of letting up. Tito almost scoffed at the irony. It was his concern, not Mat’s though.

“I mean for me, I guess,” Tito said. 

“For any of us,” Mat corrected.

“You can’t be serious,” Tito said.

“What?”  
“I don’t know if you’re out of touch or if you’re saying it to patronize me, but we both know that you, Jordan, JT, you’re not going anywhere,” Tito said. 

“I was sent down last year,” Mat reminded him.

“And now you’re one of the best rookies in the league,” Tito said. 

“You know, Jordan, I feel bad for him,” Mat said trying to shift the conversation from one sensitive topic to another. If Tito had to hear about Jordan one more time, he thought he was going to scream. 

“I mean it happens,” Tito said.

“Yeah, but there are some guy you know are never going to be traded. Crosby, McDavid, I thought Jordan was one of them.”

Tito gritted his teeth and tried not to roll his eyes when he realized that Mat was being completely serious. “You can’t be serious. Ebs is good, but he’s not Crosby or McDavid good.”

“Come on, have you seen the-”

“The World Juniors?” Tito interrupted, “Yeah.”

“You don’t like him very much do you?” Mat asked.

“No, I do, he seems fine, but I just don’t get the hype, that’s all.”

“Are you kidding? He carried the Oilers for the better part of a decade before McDavid. Why can’t you see it?”  
“Because I’m not up his ass like you are,” Tito said. Mat flinched and his jaw clenched tightly. That was one of the hardest things about having been friends for so long, Tito knew exactly the right buttons to press to hit a nerve. It was the same for Mat. Having observed countless skirmishes and having been a part of several of their own, six years of friendship had given Tito an education on Mat. 

“At least I’m trying to get to know my teammates as opposed to skulking around my hotel room,” Mat said and Tito could tell his patience was being tested. “I mean, his best friend got traded, and then he had a rough year and now he’s traded halfway across the continent, it’s not easy for him.”

“It happens all the time. People get traded, teams change, I just don’t know why you think Jordan is such an exception.”  
Mat’s jaw clenched and he fished in his pocket for his wallet. He dropped a couple of twenties on the table, enough to cover the bill and went to stand up. “You’re being a real dick, Anthony.” 

And that’s how Tito knew it was serious because aside from when they first met, Mat had only used his full name when he was angry or annoyed with him, which had thankfully been only a few times.

“Mat-”

“No, I’m going, okay, I’ll see you at practice tomorrow,” Mat said as he brushed past him.

 

Mat all but ignored him at practice the next day, as much as he could while still being on a line with him. Tito was paired with Ebs and Mat, because of course he was. Jordan looked between them curiously when Mat playfully celebrated a goal, but Tito stayed on the outside of the celebration. There was nothing that Mat did that was inherently wrong, Tito knew this. He’d known it as they were arguing, but Mat had unwittingly stepped on all the landmines in their relationship. Tito sighed, this was all his fault, a stew of jealousy over Mat’s talent and his friendship with Jordan. It was even worse that Tito knew Ebs was a good guy, but he was a good guy who Mat was enamored with and suddenly that negated all of his good qualities. 

“Do you want to hang out?” Tito asked.

Ebs was surprised at the gesture, but graciously accepted the truce that Tito was offering. Mat looked at him warily.

“Lunch?” Ebs asked.

“Sure…” Tito agreed.  

Mat looked like he wanted to join them, unsure of how the lunch would unfold because the last thing they needed was two of their players to end up on Deadspin, but Jordan waved him off.  

 

The ride to the pizza place Jordan had suggested was in awkward silence. Jordan didn’t seem to mind, but the anticipation that Tito felt about the conversation they were going to have was like pulling off a bandage. 

Before ordering, Jordan filled the space talking about Canada

“You know, you guys remind me a lot of how Taylor and I used to be.”  
“Yeah?” 

“It made the first couple of years really fun,” Jordan said as he got lost in his own memories. “I’m glad you have such a good friend on the team.”

“Mat is… Mat’s great,” Tito said feeling kind of stupid. Of course Mat was great, everyone knew that.  

“Yeah, he is,” Jordan agreed. Jordan looked at him patiently and with an understanding that unnerved Tito. 

“Do you miss Edmonton?” Tito asked.

“Yes and no. I’m happy here, I like New York, but there are some things that I really miss. But it’s a fresh start, right?”

Jordan proceeded to ask Tito what he’d liked last year about living in the city, as if Tito was some authority. He didn’t have the pride to admit that he’d gone to most of the tourist traps and the popular restaurants that had been featured in magazines. Ebs listened, though, suggesting that maybe they revisit some of the places. He was trying which was more than Tito could say.

And so the lunch was a truce. Mat was right, Ebs was a good guy, he was an experienced vet who’d taken rookies under his wing back in Edmonton and now in New York. It didn’t make it easier, though, admitting that his ill feelings stemmed from the fact that Mat’s feelings, whatever they were, were beyond his control.

 

Whether or not Jordan had talked to Mat, the iciness that had settled over their friendship seemed to thaw. Tito brought in a cup of coffee for Mat the next day, writing =) on the side in a borrowed Sharpie and Mat had rolled his eyes, but accepted it. That’s what six years of friendship had crafted. Even though they knew how to get on each other’s nerves, they also knew how to move past things. And even though Mat and Jordan were still chummier than Tito would have liked, things were okay. Until they played the Devils.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also if anyone has a Mat/Tito idea that they'd like to see written, feel free to request it at queenofbroadstreet.tumblr.com Always happy to write new things, within reason :)


	7. Chapter 7

At first, Tito thought that Jordan’s hesitancy to talk about his tenure at Edmonton was because he didn’t want to seem like he didn’t want to be here. Jordan seemed to be liking New York well enough and he wasn’t one of those players who chose to be aloof and lick his own wounds. They hadn’t had many people like that since Tito had been on the team, most of the guys were coming from shitty situations and even though the Islanders might not have been their first choice, it wasn’t the worst place that they could have ended up.

But Jordan didn’t mention Edmonton, if possible. If he was asked about it, he’d answer the question, but Tito noticed how Jordan, or even Mat, would try and divert the conversation elsewhere. Maybe this is what he’d meant by a ‘fresh start’. Jordan had cut out the part of him that had been in Edmonton in favor of the player he was today. Tito understood trying to not get hung up on the past, but the way Jordan skirted the subject almost made it obvious how painful it was to even think about. 

Nobody had actually sat them down and talked about it with them, but even for being relatively dense hockey players, they had perceived the barrier that Jordan had created. Besides, New York was his new home now and Edmonton was in the past. Josh hadn’t returned for long and after the winter break, it seemed like he was going to spend the rest of the season in the AHL. Meanwhile, Tito had had a front row seat to Mat fawning over Jordan.  _ Jordan got a goal _ .  _ Did you see that pass in the second? _ Tito noticed how in Mat’s mind, ‘Ebs’ had become ‘Jordan’. It’s not like the rest of them didn’t call him ‘Jordan’ occasionally, but hockey monikers were the go to. This was more personal, though, for the same reason that Tito called Mat ‘Mat’ instead of ‘Barz’; it showed they were closer than  _ just _ teammates. 

They took to the ice before the game, Mat trailing just behind Ebs as usual. The Devils were already out on the ice, warming up and loosening up before the face off. Tito looked over at Mat who was looking at Jordan who was staring across the red line. On the other side, Taylor Hall playfully smashed Nico Hischier against the glass.

“Ebs, come on, want to run the line?” Mat said.

Jordan didn’t move.

“Ebs. Jordan,” Mat said, skating up next to him and wrapping a loose arm around his waist. 

It was like Jordan was in a trance and Mat just snapped him out of it. “Right, yeah.”

It was the three of them, skating up towards Halak and chipping a shot in. Jordan kept glancing over at where Taylor Hall was, keeping an eye on him, watching him practice, but as far as Tito saw, Taylor never once looked over towards him. He simply didn’t seem to care. 

Tito wondered if much like Ebs had left Edmonton behind, Taylor had as well. One thing was clear, though, Ebs hadn’t left Taylor or those memories back in Canada.  

 

They won the game 5-4. Tito walked away with a goal, Barzy with two assists and Jordan with one. Taylor had had a two point game. It was as though someone had a lit a fire under him. Sentimentality didn’t spare him from checking Jordan or playing a physically aggressive game against him. It wasn’t dirty, but it certainly wasn’t restrained. He had something to prove and Jordan did as well. 

Mat didn’t take the physically aggressive play lightly. Tito had seen him at the receiving end of hard checks all throughout the season. Ebs had gone down from a hit from Hischier, and Mat had taken exception to it. There was a scrum around the Devil’s goal as Jordan staggered to his feet. Tito had grabbed some defender, but Mat and Taylor were busy exchanging words. For a moment, Tito thought it would come to blows before the referees intervened. Jordan was fine. Mat triple checked as Ebs brushed off his concern and continued play.

Tito wanted to say that he would have done the same thing. He wanted to say that he would have been a good linemate and that Mat was just doing what any teammate would have done. But Tito saw the way that Mat’s eyes followed Jordan. It was as though they couldn’t help themselves. Tito just wondered if Mat would have been as incensed if Tito had been the one knocked down.

 

Jordan and Taylor had run into each other after the game as they headed towards the locker room. Tito was a few paces behind, having been in no rush to head back in the locker room. He just wanted to celebrate the goal and the win. 

“Hey,” Jordan said.

“Hi,” Taylor replied. 

“Um-” Jordan and Taylor both started to say something but stopped. “Sorry, uh, how are you?” Jordan asked. 

“I’m good. How are you?” Taylor asked. The conversation was stilted. 

“Good.”

“Your rookie’s good,” Taylor said. 

“Yeah, he’s a good kid,” Jordan said. “Um, do you want to catch up, grab a drink?”

“Sorry, early morning flight,” Taylor said. Tito saw Jordan’s lips quirk up as if he was going to protest but stopped.

“Yeah, um, you had a good game.”  
“Thanks,” Taylor said. 

“I-” 

Taylor jerked his head towards Tito, reminding Jordan that they weren’t alone. “I’ll see you later, Ebs.”

 

Jordan was stoically quiet, even for him in the locker room. 

“Drinks on me boys!” 

“Are you coming?” Tito asked as he finished stuffing his bag. 

Jordan paused, feeling everyone looking at him expectantly, “Nah, I’m getting too old for this.”

“Mat, you’re coming right?” Tito asked. 

Mat glanced over to Jordan. 

“C’mon, aren’t you going to celebrate my goal with me?” Tito asked trying to sound like he was teasing but it didn’t quite come out as lightly as he had intended. 

“I’ll buy you lunch tomorrow, okay?” Mat said.

“You’re always game for going out,” Tito said.

“I’m just in the mood for a quiet night, I think,” Mat said.

They all headed out together, Tito following Shane and knowing that his older teammates would end up buying him a drink. He wanted to pretend he didn’t care. That Mat was just tired and sore like the rest of them, but he saw out of the corner of his eye Mat slide in the passenger seat of Jordan’s car. 

Mat’s choice hadn’t been to go out with the guys or go home, his choice had been between Tito or Jordan and Mat had just made his choice clear. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a hinted homophobic slur said on ice, but the details are pretty vague of the incident. And the word isn't ever written.

Mat grabbed lunch with Tito the next day, but the excitement from the game had settled. They had had practice and their attention was focused on the following game. That was the way things were in hockey. Always look forward, never look back. 

“How was last night?” Mat shrugged.

Tito sighed. He’d gone out with some of the others, most of the married-with-kids guys had gone straight home, but Tito had been sandwiched between Leddy and JT. As he’d thought, Nick had grabbed an extra beer and brought it back to the table. They were supposed to be celebrating but Tito’s mood had changed since he saw Mat head out with Jordan. His mind drifted to wondering what they were doing. Where they were at. Was Mat happy? Was Jordan seeking comfort in him? Tito didn’t want to know, but all the same, knowing would make it easier. It was like ripping off a bandaid, at least Tito would know what he was up against.

“It was fine, we didn’t stay out too late,” Tito said.

“Sorry, I missed it,” Mat said.

Tito shrugged, “Ebs probably needed you more.”

Mat looked at him stunned. He couldn’t possibly have thought that Tito was oblivious to whatever was happening between them.

“He looked upset yesterday,” Tito said. 

“Yeah, it’s always hard playing against old teammates,” Mat said. Tito wondered if that was all there was to it because Jordan and Taylor certainly didn’t act like old teammates. 

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Hey, you know, I’m really glad we’re grabbing lunch, it feels like we haven’t spent any time with each other lately,” Mat said.

Tito frowned, “We see each other every day.”

“Yeah, but, I don’t know, I guess it just seems like there’s been a little distance between us lately.”

It was true. Tito knew that he was largely to blame. Even though he spent some time around Jordan and was even able to consider him somewhat of a friend, Tito still excused himself from some of the workouts that Ebs and Mat would go on; he didn’t need or want to see the way that Mat looked at Ebs.

“I know it’s probably my fault, I’ve been going through some things,” Mat continued.

“Do you want to talk about them?” Tito asked.

Mat paused and put his utensils down. “Have you ever thought about being, you know, with another man?” 

Tito’s throat closed up, “No,” he lied. “but I’m assuming you have?”  
Mat searched Tito’s face for his reaction, “Yeah, I mean I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Is that okay?”

Tito hated the tone that Mat was using, the type people used when they were trying to coax a wild animal out of hiding. “Of course, thanks for telling me,” Tito said and pasted a smile on his face. He reached over and patted Mat’s hand reassuringly. 

“Ebs?” Tito asked.

“Is it obvious?” Mat asked.

“No, I just know you well,” Tito said. 

“I really like him,” Mat gushed. “You know at first I just wanted to meet him, but being his teammate, being his friend, it’s unbelievable.”

Tito tried to be supportive. He knew that it must have taken a lot of courage for Mat to tell him that. More courage that he himself seemed able to muster at this point, but he knew how important it was for him to have a good reaction to Mat’s coming out. If Josh hadn’t reacted well, Tito would have been crushed, and he and Josh weren’t nearly as close friends and he and Mat were. The selfish part of Tito, though, the part that felt like acid burning his stomach wanted to tell Mat to shut up. He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear how much Mat liked Ebs, but Tito was Mat’s friend, maybe his best friend on the team. Mat didn’t need Tito’s feelings right now, he needed his friendship, and that’s what Tito would have to settle for. 

 

He got home, feeling worse than after a bag skate and flipped through his contacts to find Josh’s number.

“Hey,” Josh answered pleasantly.

Tito swallowed and for a moment Josh wondered if he’d been called by accident.

“Can you just talk?” Tito asked.

“About?” Josh asked.

“Anything?” Tito said.

Josh didn’t ask anymore questions and Tito was grateful. So Josh talked about his brother and Bridgeport and his plans for over the AHL All-Stars weekend and he didn’t expect Tito to talk or give him an explanation.

 

Sometimes Tito forgets. He had gay friends back home, Josh was a good ally and friend, Mat wasn’t straight and Tito doubted that Jordan was either, so sometimes he forgot that there were still people who weren’t okay with being gay. Of course, that was in the back of his mind, but since his conversation with Mat, Tito had had no interest in coming out to anyone else. He didn’t even want to talk about Mat’s sexual orientation.

But there he was, waiting for a faceoff against the Blue Jackets and Tito heard _ that word _ muttered under a Blue Jacket’s breath. He hadn’t heard it since juniors, but all of a sudden Tito saw red. It wasn’t even directed towards him, but he was certain that Mat and Ebs had heard as well from the way they seemed startled. 

Mat hunched over and tried to focus on the faceoff, but Tito knew the play wouldn’t last long. Pretty much after the faceoff had taken place, Tito skated over to the guy and dropped his gloves. He had a few inches on Tito and several more pounds, but Tito didn’t care. He got a few good jabs in, even though nobody would have said that Tito won. It didn’t matter, teammates protected their own.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Ebs said when the period ended. So it had been directed at him.

“Yeah, I did,” Tito said with a look that answered everything.

  
  


Mat looked at him curiously after the game. “How’s your hand?” 

Tito shrugged, his knuckles were a little bloodied, but Francis had made sure Tito knew how to fight before he’d come to the Islanders.

“I’ll ice it later,” Tito shrugged, just hoping that he wouldn’t get scolded for taking an unnecessary penalty.

“You didn’t have to do that for me,” Mat said.

“Yeah, I did,” Tito said. “And I really fucking hate that word.”

Mat didn’t say anything else, but he returned with an ice pack and put in on top of Tito’s hand. Media was all over him later, knowing that it was rare for Tito to pick a fight.

He didn’t go into details, it didn’t matter that anyone else knew and Tito knew that telling the truth could spawn rumors, “There was tension all game, if it wasn’t me it was going to be someone else.” Tito just hoped that he was right. 


	9. Chapter 9

It was all the more clear that Mat was smitten with Ebs. Every look, every lingering touch had more definition now that Mat himself had assured Tito of his feelings. The Islanders had the benefit for their foundation coming up, a night that they put hockey aside for a moment and celebrated with the community. 

Most of the guys were bringing their wives or girlfriends, but Tito, Mat, and Ebs all found themselves single. Tito and Mat had agreed to get ready together having eaten dinner beforehand to ensure that their tuxes remained spotless. 

“How do I look?” Mat asked. 

He fiddled with his cufflinks a little, glancing behind Tito in the floor length mirror. Tito just stared. It wasn’t the first time that he thought his friend was handsome. Tito knew how attractive Mat was, even straight guys would agree that Mat was good-looking, but here, Mat looked downright gorgeous. 

“Tito? Do I look okay?” Mat asked, waiting on Tito’s response with a hint of uncertainty.

Tito smiled, “You look great.” 

Mat beamed back at him, “Really? You look pretty great yourself,” he said. He reached forward to straighten out Tito’s tie a little. 

Tito swallowed. It didn’t mean anything. 

“I think I’m going to tell him tonight,” Mat said.

“Are you sure?” Tito asked. 

“Yeah, I mean, after the benefit and all that.”

“I’m sure it will go well,” Tito reassured with gravel in his throat. 

“Yeah?” Mat asked. It was times like this that Tito wished Mat didn’t care so much about his opinion. All the excitement that he had had going to this event had disappeared. Before, Mat’s feelings towards Ebs just presented the hypothetical possibility of a relationship between his two teammates, but now it had a very real potential of coming true. 

“Yeah, he’d be dumb not to see you and want you,” Tito said.

 

Mat drove them to the gala and they headed inside together. Tito forced a smile, trying to enjoy it as much as possible. They walked in and Tito saw the awe with which Mat looked at the space. He remembered going for the first time last year, he’d been all by himself, though. Now, it was like experiencing it all over again by sharing it with Mat. Ebs had already arrived and was busy checking his phone.

Ebs’s eyes widened when he saw Tito and Mat. “Who knew a tux could make you look so good?” He teased. “Hi Tito,” he said. 

Mat blushed. “You look pretty dapper yourself.”

“That’s why I was named one of Edmonton’s best dressed.”   
“You were not,” Mat challenged.

“No, I wasn’t but I should have been. Come on,” Ebs said and coaxed them to where the other guys were being corralled for a team picture. It seemed so strange seeing all the guys dressed up and out of their hockey gear. 

They squished together, somehow Mat had gravitated to where Jordan was and Tito had been bounced towards the edges of the group. “One, two, three.” A bevy of photo flashes tried to capture the moment hoping that at least one of the photos was good enough for the Islanders media. 

They dispersed and Tito heard Mat whisper to Jordan, “Hey, can we talk later tonight?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Jordan agreed.

The team was divided among the tables to mingle with the guests. Tito always felt awkward in these situations. He wasn’t the shyest member of the team, but he certainly wasn’t the most outgoing. Mat, of course, seemed right at home. He had said something to make the older women and men at his table laugh. 

“Black or red?” A woman standing next to Tito asked. He didn’t know much about gambling or have a strong opinion either way.

“What’s the saying? Always bet on black?” Tito said with a smile. He found himself looking over to where Jordan and Mat were, looking to see if they were going to have  _ the talk _ . But Ebs and Mat were professionals first and they focused their attention on the people crowded around them. They were able to pretend like nothing else mattered. For Tito it wasn’t so easy. 

After a while, though, the evening began to drain Tito. He continued to smile and pretend to be engaged, but in reality he just wanted to go home. People started to trickle out of the gala and soon there were just mostly just players and staff waiting until they could leave. 

“Have you seen Ebs?” Mat asked.

Tito glanced around, but he didn’t see Jordan among the pockets of Islanders in the room. “No, I haven’t.”   
“If you see him, can you tell him that I was looking for him?” Mat asked with apprehension.

“Sure,” Tito said. 

 

Tito’s not actively looking for Jordan, but he finds him outside, clutching his cell phone tightly with his back turned to Tito. 

“You can’t do this,” Jordan snapped in a tone that Tito hadn’t heard before nor did he ever want directed towards him. “Look, I’m at an Islanders event right now… no, we don’t have a game tomorrow… you can’t just call me knowing that I’ll always pick up. You know I’ll drop everything for you… fuck, okay, you’re so drunk right now. I can’t deal with this.” 

Jordan ended the phone call and punched the wall out of frustration, “Fuck.”

He turned and saw Tito. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for you to hear that,” Jordan said with a wan smile.

“Are you okay?” Tito asked.

“Yeah, just had to take care of something,” Jordan sighed. “Things wrapping up?”

“Just about.” 

“Hey,” Mat said and Tito turn to see him just arrive. He wanted to warn Mat about the conversation, about the mood that Jordan was in, about how he was almost certain that Jordan was hung up on someone, but he couldn’t. “Can we talk now?” 

Tito watched Mat’s face fall as Jordan pushed past him back towards the rest of the team. “Sorry, can it wait until tomorrow? I’m just kind of tired right now.”

Mat swallowed thickly. Tito knew that Jordan hadn’t intended to hurt him but the damage was done. “Yeah, sure, it wasn’t anything big anyways.”

“Thanks, Mat.”

They all headed out their separate ways shortly thereafter. “Take me home?” Tito asked. 

“Yeah,” Mat said as he led Tito towards his car. They drove in an uncomfortable silence with Tito having no idea what to say. It hadn’t been a rejection, but it had been an outright dismissal. Tito had been witness to his friend’s heart being bruised, watching as his hopes got dampened and it was as if he could see the courage visibly leave Mat. 

By the time they arrived at Tito’s apartment, Mat looked exhausted and crushed. “Want to stay?” Tito asked. Mat shrugged, but he got out of the car and followed Tito up to his place. 

“It’s stupid isn’t it?” Mat asked when they were outside Tito’s door. 

Tito shook his head, “He disappointed you, it isn’t stupid. It’s even worse because you had expectations for how the night was supposed to go and it didn’t go that way.”

Mat plopped down on Tito’s couch and buried his face in his hands. For a moment Tito thought he was crying and he didn’t think he could handle that, not today at least. “Fuck me,” Mat said. 

“Come on,” Tito said. “There’s always tomorrow.”   
Mat started to undress, getting out of his jacket, and shirt and dress pants and Tito glanced over to where Mat just stood in only his underwear. “How did you become the voice of reason?” Mat asked

Tito chuckled dryly as he too began to get ready for bed, “I’m hardly the voice of  reason.”

“Nah, you keep me together,” Mat said and Tito didn’t quite know what to make of that. 

“Goodnight,” Tito said as he watched Mat stalk off to the guest room, his suit forgotten on the floor and Tito just wondered if Mat was who kept him together all along. “I’m so fucked,” Tito whispered in his dark room as his last thought before he fell asleep.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Tito woke up once during the night, around seven when the sun started to rise and peek through the blinds. In the midst of everything that had happened last night, he’d forgotten to close them and as a result he’d been woken up prematurely. He headed out to the kitchen to see if Mat was already awake, but the kitchen was still quiet. 

The door to the guest room was cracked open and Tito went to check on Mat. He looked inside and Mat was sprawled across the top sheet, comforter almost kicked off the foot of the bed. Tito sighed and quietly entered the room.  

“Pourquoi est-ce que c’est trop difficile?” Tito murmured as he rearranged the blankets and draped them on top of Mat. Mat had shown no signs of waking or even of having realized that Tito had come in. Here, he looked so peaceful, Mat’s face relaxed and had kept no sign of worry from the previous night. Tito wondered how long it would last or if the memory of the night before would come back in the morning. “Beaux reves,” he said before sparring one last glance at a sleeping Mat and shutting the door.

 

Tito woke up for good, a few hours later when the smell of bacon woke him up. He checked the time, decided that it was acceptable enough to get up and moving. He yawned and opened his door to see Mat milling about in the kitchen. He had his back towards Tito, humming a Justin Bieber song offkey but quietly enough to not wake Tito up. He was still only in his underwear and Tito wondered if this was what he could wake up to if things were different. He wondered if this is what Jordan could choose to wake up to. 

“Hey,” Tito said.

“Hey,” Mat said, turning away from what Tito thought were eggs on the stove. “You’re up.”

“Yeah, you didn’t have to make breakfast,” Tito said.

“After last night, I kind of did,” Mat said with a sheepish smile. “Besides it’s just eggs and toast.”

Tito smiled, “Sounds delicious.” 

Mat rolled his eyes, thinking that Tito was teasing him, but he wasn’t. Tito was pretty sure that Mat could simply pour him a bowl of cereal and he would be happy about it. It felt so domesticated the way that Tito grabbed two plates as Mat finished up cooking the eggs. It was just another insight into the life that Tito could be living if things were different, if Mat liked him. 

“I could become a chef, huh?” Mat said and raised his eyebrows as Tito took the first bite.

They were good, but Tito had been victim to a few of Mat’s culinary mishaps. “Your only dish is eggs? What happens after breakfast?” Tito asked.

Mat shrugged, “Eggs are versatile. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

“I’m pretty sure the trainers would disagree with that,” Tito said.

“Well, when I’m retired they won’t have much of a say,” Mat said.

Tito rolled his eyes, “You’ll get tired of eating just eggs after a few days, gotta learn a few more dishes.”

“I have time,” Mat said with a smile. The joke fell as they dissolved into silence. 

“How are you today?” Tito asked.

“Okay,” Mat sighed. “It was unfair for me to put that on Jordan. Besides, it’s not even like I was rejected, it’s just postponed. It’s not hopeless.” Tito couldn’t help but think that Mat was trying to reassure himself more than he was trying to reassure Tito. “But you’ve been quiet lately,” Mat said.

Dread settled in Tito’s stomach. “What?” Tito asked.

“Come on, you haven’t been picking up lately,” Mat said.

“Oh no,” Tito said forcing a laugh. 

“What? You’ve been such a good friend lately, I want to be there for you,” Mat said.

Tito rolled his eyes, “I don’t need your help to pick up, thanks for the vote of confidence. Besides, Josh already cares enough for the whole team.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Mat said trying to backtrack. 

“I know, but come on, you being my wingman, you’d have the girls fawning over that face before I’d even had a chance,” Tito said.

“That’s not true,” Mat said all of a sudden completely seriously. Tito was shocked by the sudden flip between what he had thought was a light-hearted conversation to Mat talking frankly.

“I mean, it’s fine,” Tito said.

“No, it’s not, I wouldn’t do that to you,” Mat said vehemently.

“I know,” Tito reassured, unsure of how the morning had ended up this way. “It was just a joke.”

“But you know, I’d never make a move on someone you liked,” Mat said. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“I mean, you could,” Tito said. 

“But I wouldn’t, you’re more important than any relationship,” Mat said. “I’m not going to throw away seven years of friendship for a fuck.” 

Tito’s eyes widened and he swallowed. It was rare for them to talk about their feelings like this with each other. Their friendship ran deep, Tito knew that, but he didn’t expect Mat to say that. Worse yet, Mat was exactly right, Tito wasn’t going to throw away seven years of friendship for a fuck, or a relationship, or whatever it was that he wanted with Mat. 

“Yeah, you too,” Tito said thickly, hating the way his eyes started to burn.

     Mat seemed to notice the change and Tito could feel him internally freaking out across the table. They both didn’t cry much, growing up playing hockey, you learned to keep it in, until you were alone, but in the past twenty-four hours, they’d both gotten suspiciously close.

     "Come on, my eggs weren’t that bad,” Mat tried to lighten the mood.

     “You haven’t finished them yet,” Tito replied, nodding towards Mat’s half-eaten plate.

     “I’m savoring it.”

 

They had an optional practice that afternoon and Mat decided not to head back to Seids before heading in. Seids would probably go into Dad mode and Tito knew that Mat probably wouldn’t want to rehash last night again even if he left out most of the details. So Mat grabbed some of Tito’s Islanders gear and had his bag stored in his car. Tito felt possessiveness well up as he saw Mat wearing his shorts with “72” on them. He wondered if this was the same feeling the guys who were married or had girlfriends had when they saw their significant others in their jerseys, wearing their numbers.

A few eyes were raised in the locker room when the guys saw Mat wearing Tito’s clothes but nobody asked any questions. Instead, they got changed in relatively good spirits, though some were still fighting hangovers from last night. 

“Where’s Ebs?” Mat asked when the guys who were coming, which still were most of the team, had all arrived.

JT shrugged, “He texted me, said he had to go to Jersey for something.”   
“Who the fuck willingly goes to Jersey?”

     " I don’t know,” JT said.

Tito swallowed as he pulled on his kit. The others might wonder what was in Jersey, but Tito was pretty certain he knew the answer. It wasn’t a what, but it was a who. And if it was the person that Tito was thinking of, he knew that it wouldn’t mean anything good for Mat. 

 


	11. Chapter 11

“Hey, missed you at practice yesterday,” Mat said with the question obvious in his voice. As JT had promised, Ebs had returned to practice the next day, though Tito couldn’t help but think he looked a little worse for wear. 

“Awww, can’t go a practice without seeing this mug?” Jordan asked without answering the question that they all had on their minds. 

Mat rolled his eyes, but smiled, “We were happy to get a break.”  
Ebs ruffled Mat’s hair, gaining a protest, but it was the type of affection that caused Mat to practically preen. 

Mat patted his hair back down much to the teasing of some of the vets before they got on the ice. 

For as much as Ebs had inadvertently thrown Tito’s personal life into chaos, their chemistry on the ice was undeniable. They ran the power pay and drills with ease, a natural segway from JT’s first line. Tito wondered if it was almost a metaphor that Mat was in between Jordan and himself, not only on the ice, but in their lives as well. Tito just hoped that he was wrong in thinking that Taylor was the center of Jordan’s. 

 

“Hey, Ebs, want to grab lunch?” Mat asked after practice.

“Tito, you wanna join us?” Ebs asked. 

Tito looked beyond Jordan to see Mat gently shake his head. He knew that this was the continuation of the gala that Mat had expected.

“Thanks, but I think I’m gonna take a nap,” Tito said. 

“You sure?” Ebs asked.

Mat mouthed  _ Thank you _ , “Yeah, but I’ll come next time,” Tito promised. 

Tito didn’t want to know anything about the lunch. He didn’t want to hear about the conversation, he didn’t want to hear that Ebs had made Mat cry, or about the way Jordan’s lips felt against Mat’s own. He didn’t want to know any of it, but that was the privilege of being Mat’s friend and standing by his side. So the only thing he could do was go home, sit in a painfully cold ice bath, and bury himself under the covers.

His phone vibrated with a text, once, twice, but Tito wasn’t brave enough to look at the texts. He knew that he’d find out what happened for better or worse. Right now, he just wanted to check out of his life, if only for a few hours. Tito turned off his phone and rolled over. It could wait for now. 

 

The buzzer to his apartment rang almost constantly and woke Tito out of his stupor. Apparently, Tito hadn’t rushed to buzz Mat in soon enough because he kept pressing the buzzer again and again until Tito finally coalesced. 

“Hey, Mat,” he said sleepily when he saw Mat come out of the elevator. 

“I’ve been texting you all afternoon,” Mat said foregoing any greetings. 

“I was asleep,” Tito said.

“Seriously? I thought you just said that as an excuse,” Mat said. 

“No, I was really asleep,” Tito said. Mat paused. “So… what happened?” Tito asked, knowing that Mat had come over because he wanted to talk about the lunch. 

“I told him I liked him. It was after lunch and he was taking me back to Seids and I just kind of looked over at him and told him I liked him.”  
“Okay,” Tito said.

“And he just kind of stared at me and said, ‘Wow, I wasn’t expecting this,’” Mat said. “Who says that? ‘Wow’? What kind of shitty response is that?”

“I mean, it sounds like he was nice about it,” Tito said.

“I mean, it wasn’t a no,” Mat said. 

“But…” 

“He said he needed to think about it,” Mat said. 

“Well that’s good, isn’t it?” Tito asked. 

“I don’t know. It’s like he’s never thought about it before,” Mat said. “If he wanted to be with me wouldn’t the thought have crossed his mind.”

“I mean, it’s not the same, but if Josh liked me, I think I’d be kind of surprised,” Tito said.

“Does Josh like you?” Mat asked.

“What? No, it was just an example,” Tito said. 

“Well, you said he was concerned about your dating life,” Mat said.

“There is nothing there, besides this isn’t about me, this is about you and Ebs,” Tito said.

“But there isn’t a me and Ebs,” Mat said. 

“Look, you said it yourself, right? It isn’t a no,” Tito said. “Just give Ebs some time, besides the fact that he’s thinking about it means that he’s at least interested in men, right?”  
“I mean… I thought you knew,” Mat said.

“Because of what happened with the Blue Jackets?” Tito asked. “All that meant was he was some homophobic dick, I didn’t think it meant anything about Ebs.”

“I mean, Ebs helped, you know, he thought that you’d be okay with me, uh, liking guys,” Mat said.

“Ebs knew?” Tito said. 

“Yeah,” Mat said, “I mean he didn’t know I liked _him_ , but he knew about the other stuff.”  
“That’s great,” Tito said forced. Mat had come out to Jordan first. Or maybe he told his sister and parents, but that was different. Mat had told Jordan, a guy that he had known for only a few months before he’d known Tito, his friend for over seven years. That stung. The rational part of Tito knew that it wasn’t about him. Mat deserved all the support he could get, and if Jordan had been the spark to give Mat the confidence to tell Tito that he wasn’t straight then Tito should be grateful. But he wasn’t. “Hey, Mat, he’d be dumb not to date you,” Tito said.

For all the bravado and confidence that Mat projected, the smile that grew on his face hinted at his own insecurities. “Yeah?” Mat asked.

“For sure,” Tito said.

Mat leaned forward and almost collapsed onto TIto’s chest. He nudged his forehead into the crook of Tito’s neck and Tito’s arms wrapped around him instinctively. 

“How do you always say the right thing?” Mat whispered.

“Consider it my superpower,” Tito said.

 

They’d played some video games afterwards before Mat headed back to Seids for dinner. Tito pretended not to notice the way that he kept checking his phone in case Ebs texted him. It would take Ebs a few days to decide, if anything Tito was sure that Jordan would weigh this decision carefully no matter what the outcome was. For as light-hearted as he could be, Tito knew that Jordan cared about this and cared about Mat. Against his better judgement, Tito grabbed his phone and texted Jordan.  _ You home?  _

_ Yeah. _

_ Can we talk? _ Tito wrote.

_ Come on over _ . Ebs replied in a few minutes. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I was on vacation in one of the few remaining hotels with no internet access, sorry. :( Also I'm doing Hockey Big Bang this year!!!

Ebs was waiting for him in the lobby of his apartment building when Tito arrived. “Hey,” Ebs said as he shoved his phone in his pocket and greeted Tito.

“Hey,” Tito said.

“What’s up?” Ebs asked. 

“Not much,” Tito shrugged. They took the elevator up to Jordan’s apartment in silence, so many things rushing through Tito’s mind. 

“Did you want something to drink? Anything to eat? I could whip something together if you wanted?” 

“I’m good, thanks though,” Tito said. 

“So…” Ebs waited for Tito to start, something that Tito himself didn’t quite know how to approach.

“Mat told me, that you’re not… you know.”   
“What? Straight,” Jordan said.

“Yeah,” Tito replied.

“We kind of thought that you knew considering the Blue Jackets game.”

“I didn’t, but I thought you should know that I know,” Tito said.

“Most of the other guys know, or at least probably have an idea, it’s kind of an open secret in the league, I guess,” Jordan shrugged.

“Because of you and Taylor Hall?” Tito asked.

Jordan froze, for the first time in the conversation his composure faltered, “Why do you think that?”   
“That’s who called at the gala, right? And who you visited when you went to New Jersey?” Tito said.

Jordan paused, “You didn’t know that I wasn’t straight, but you knew about me and Taylor.”

“I didn’t know, I mean the conversation at the game was kind of weird, but I mean, it all makes sense,” Tito said.

Jordan shrugged, “Well, it’s not a thing anymore.” Despite Jordan’s feigned indifference, Tito sensed that he wasn’t as unfazed as he pretended to be. 

“Is there a thing with Mat?” Tito asked.

Jordan paused, “I don’t know.”

“Don’t hurt him,” Tito said, “I get if you don’t have feelings for him, or if you do, but he’s not as strong as he pretends to be.”

“Mat’s my friend, too,” Jordan reminded.

“I know, but if you aren’t over Taylor don’t start something with Mat.”

“I haven’t been with Taylor in over two years,” Jordan said.

“Maybe so, but the minute he called you dropped everything even though it hurt Mat,” Tito said.

“What do you mean?” 

“He wanted to tell you at the gala. You have no idea how nervous and excited he was that night.”

“I didn’t know, it wasn’t about him,” Jordan said.

“Yeah, but you still hurt him even if you didn’t mean to,” Tito said.

“I didn’t- thanks for letting me know, Mat didn’t say anything.”   
“Of course he didn’t. He  _ likes _ you, he’s not going to say that.”

“Fuck,” Jordan said.

“Just, please be careful with him,” Tito said.

“Is this the shovel talk?” Jordan asked.

“No, just I know Mat and I don’t want to see my friend hurt.”

“I’m sorry, Tito,” Jordan said.

“About?”

“He’s hurting you even if he doesn’t mean to, isn’t he?” Jordan said.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, besides there’s nothing to be sorry about,” Tito said and it was his turn to pretend he was unaffected.

 

_ Do you have any plans for tomorrow?  _ Mat texted after Tito had left Jordan’s apartment.

_ Practice, I guess, not much else _ . Tito replied.

_ Okay _ . 

_???? _ Tito wrote back.

_ You’re going to absolutely love me.  _ Tito rolled his eyes.  

_ Why? _

_ I found you a date _ . Tito read and reread the text message again and again. Instead of replying he picked up his phone and dialed Mat.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Tito asked.

“Okay, I met this girl and she’s exactly your type, she’s a student at NYU, Canadian, from Quebec, likes hockey but not too much. We usually end up at the coffeeshop, you know the one I’ve taken you to a couple of times. Anyways, we’ve seen each other around and we’ve chatted a few times and I didn’t think of it before, but I realized that you’d probably like her.”

“Are you kidding me?” Tito snapped.

“What? I thought you’d be happy.”

Tito wasn’t in the mood especially after having just had the talk with Ebs. “Do you really think I’m that pathetic that I can’t get my own dates, or that I know my own type?”

“No, that wasn’t what I meant,” Mat said, “I just- you’ve been really great with me and Ebs and I thought I could help you, too.”   
“When have I ever said that I wanted help or that I was unhappy being single?” Tito said.

“I mean, you didn’t, but Josh is-”

“Josh is different and besides he’s not setting me up with random people when I didn’t ask for it,” Tito said.

“Look, I’m sorry, you don’t need to be a dick though,” Mat said defensively. “I’ll let her know-”

“No, you won’t, because this isn’t her fault, it’s yours,” Tito said, “So I will go, and I will meet her out of respect for  _ her _ feelings and  _ her _ time, okay? And don’t ever pull a stunt like this again.”

“Tito-” But Tito was done listening and hung up. Ebs was right, Mat just knew how to hurt Tito without meaning to.  

 

Mat was smart enough not to come to Tito’s apartment later. Tito wasn’t quite sure how he’d react anyways if he had to deal with that. He sighed as he picked out a nice shirt and slacks to take to the practice rink for the date later. Every cell in his body wanted to tell Mat to cancel for him, but here he was trying to clean up Mat’s mess once again. 

Mat held out a cup of coffee as a peace offering to Tito, but he just looked at Mat’s outstretched arm for a moment too long. “I think Ebs would appreciate it more,” Tito said curtly.

He buried away the guilt at seeing Mat’s hurt expression and finished pulling on his gear. The others seemed stunned at the interaction but nobody engaged with either of them. Tito had been on teams before where teammates had had fights, but he was never involved in them. He only talked and looked at Mat when necessary during practice and even though he sensed that Mat wanted to talk- the fight from the phone call last night had left him and instead he seemed apologetic- Tito just ignored him. 

When everyone else changed into regular clothes after they showered, Tito changed into his nicer clothes. 

“Looking good, hot date?” one of the vets whistled from the other side of the room.

“Well, it’s a date,” Tito grimaced. 

“Really?” This grabbed the locker room’s attention. Ebs just looked at him stunned. 

“It was a setup,” Tito said rolling his eyes, “Don’t get too excited. Mat, where are we meeting again?” 

Mat gave him the name of the restaurant that he’d suggested sheepishly and Tito headed out without another word to either his teammates or Mat. 

The restaurant was pretty close to the cafe that Mat had liked. It was a small place that would afford them privacy to get to know each other. Nothing too fancy, Tito wasn’t that sort of guy, and nothing that was too stuffy either. 

He was about ready to get a table when he saw a woman waving towards him from a table towards the back wall. 

“Hi, Anthony? I’m Ellie,” a friendly girl around his own age greeted. She was cute, not pretty in a model sense, but still attractive. As much as Tito hated to admit it, she would have been his type if… if things were different.

“Tito, nice to meet you,” Tito replied and sat down across from her.

 


	13. Chapter 13

Ellie had worn a cute dress and had obviously taken time to get ready which made this all the more worse because she  _ wanted  _ to be here. Or, at the very least, she wanted to get to know him better. Tito had never been the guy to flippantly date someone or play with their feelings. He’d had bad dates, but they hadn’t started off as bad. This one was largely because Tito knew that nothing would come of it. He couldn’t even enjoy the food because he knew he was going to hurt her.

He tried to pay attention as Ellie talked about having moved to New York.

“Do you like it here so far?” he asked.

“Yeah, I mean it’s a big departure from my hometown- I’m from about an hour and a half outside of Toronto, but I like it, I like the fast-paced lifestyle, you know.”

“Yeah, last year was the first year that I was here and for the first month or so I tried to go out every night, not, like, to party, but just to take in all the sights and stuff but after that I had to space it out a little bit, it was too tiring.”

“I’m sure, that plus your traveling schedule.”

“I don’t mind that so much but the long roadies are killer,” Tito admitted.

“Do you miss it during the summer?”

“Kind of, but I don’t really get to see my family during the year, my brother even less since he’s traveling too, so it’s nice to be home for a few months and just relax.”

“Oh yeah, I can imagine.”

“Look-”   
“I- Sorry, go ahead,” Ellie said with a smile that made what Tito was about to do even worse.

“Sorry, uh, I wanted to say, you’re really great and I promise this is no reflection of you, but I’m really not looking for a relationship,” Tito said. 

“Oh,” Ellie’s face fell and Tito hated the way his stomach felt unsettled. 

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to lead you on,” Tito said.

“Why did you come, then?” Ellie asked.

Tito sighed, “Mat just kind of sprung this on me and I wasn’t not going to show up.”

“So you had absolutely no interest in this,” Ellie said her voice now raising in anger.

“I really enjoyed our conversation and I think we could be good friends, but at the beginning, honestly no,” Tito said.

“So was this just a joke to you, you both thought this would be funny?” Ellie asked.

“No. No! Mat meant well, I’ve been single for a while and he thought, I guess, it would be good for me…”   
“What about for me?” Ellie asked.

“He thought it would work out,” Tito said, “But he should have never just acted like he did and I’m really sorry.”

“What a waste,” Ellie said and stood up. She didn’t leave money for the bill but Tito didn’t blame her, he’d figured he’d pay for it anyways and sighed.

“Fuck,” he swore. He asked for the bill and got a pitying glance from the waiter even though it was all his fault. Well, it was really all Mat’s fault, but Tito knew that even though he had acted in a terribly inappropriate way, Mat had meant well. That was the problem though, despite Mat’s intentions he had no idea what Tito wanted, he had no idea that Tito wasn’t even really interested in women and that had caused Ellie to be a casualty of their conflict.

 

Tito didn’t even bother getting changed when he got back to his apartment and instead collapsed on the couch. He was pretty sure that Ellie was going to go back and tell all her friends how shitty he and Mat were and he couldn’t even blame here.

Just around dinner time, there was a knock on the door and Tito didn’t have to guess who it was. “Mat, I’m really not in the mood,” Tito said.

Mat stood on the other side of the door shifting nervously, a first for their friendship.

“Can I come in, please?” Mat asked.

Tito held the door open and let Mat in, his annoyance almost melting when he saw the visible relief on Mat’s face. 

“I brought take out from your favorite place,” Mat said.

“That’s not in our diet plan,” Tito replied but accepted the bag anyways, “But I won’t tell if you won’t.” 

“Deal.”

“How’d it go?” Mat asked.

Tito groaned, “Can we just not do this, please?”

“It didn’t go well?” Mat asked and Tito’s look alone must have answered the question. “I really thought that you would like her.”

“I did. That wasn’t the problem, I just don’t want to really date right now.”

“Why not?” Mat asked.

“I guess I’m not in the right frame of mind right now,” Tito shrugged.

“I owe you a really big apology. Seids kind of yelled at me at home today and Jordan was pissed that I set you up without you knowing.”

“So you’re apologizing because Jordan’s mad?” Tito asked unimpressed.

“No! I mean he’s annoyed but they’re right. I had no business to just do that and to assume that I knew what was best for you when you didn’t even say you wanted to date anyone. I just, I guess I’ve been so happy lately, and I wanted the same for you,” Mat said.

“I am happy,” Tito said, “Well, most of the time, except when you pull shit like this, I just, I had kind of liked someone for a while and I’m not really over them.”

“I didn’t know you had had a girlfriend,” Mat said with hurt eeking into his voice.

“I didn’t. It was just a crush, nothing ever came of it, but I’m just not at a place where I can date someone else yet,” Tito said being mindful of the pronouns he was using, but he tried to keep is as truthful as possible. The only thing that was a blatant lie was that he had a  _ crush _ on Mat. It wasn’t a crush, that was the problem, it wasn’t so easy to get over.

“I had no idea,” Mat said.

“I know, I’m not super forthcoming about it either, it’s kind of embarrassing,” Tito admitted.

“It isn’t. You could have told me, you know,” Mat said. 

“I know. I just- I’m not like you. I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve like you do,” Tito said.

“I’d listen, though.”

“I know you would,” Mat said. “Um, Jordan-”

“Hey, look, I know you want to talk about Jordan, and that’s cool, but just for tonight could we just not talk about him or Ellie or dating?” Tito asked.

Mat looked like he wanted to say more but didn’t. “Uh, yeah, what were you up to?”

Tito shrugged, “I was just planning a quiet night in and maybe watching some TV.”

“Can I stay?” Mat asked.

“I can’t eat all the take out myself, can I?” Tito said with a smile and Mat knew in that moment that he was forgiven. So for the night, Tito postponed the inevitable. He knew tomorrow Mat would tell him what he wanted to about Jordan and Tito would play the role of his best friend and listen. But for today, he was too weak to hold up his end of it, and just for today he was able to forget.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a warning at the beginning of the fic I warned that Mat/ Jordan wouldn't really be a couple and that it was one-sided. They are going to "try it out" but nothing is really going to happen so that's why I tagged it as is. If anyone has an issue, though, just be warned. Mat/Tito though is endgame.

Mat stayed over after he fell asleep on the couch and Tito just sighed. He wondered what it would be like if he got to see this sight every night and how lucky he’d be. He stayed awake a little longer than usual just enjoying the quiet and watching the glow of the TV after he’d muted the sound.

In the morning, when he woke up, Mat was already done making breakfast and he looked like he was ready to almost head out the door.

“How are you?” Mat asked.

“I’m fine,” Tito said. The full night’s sleep had replenished his patience and given him time to regain his composure. “Wow, second time that you’re making breakfast for me, you must really feel guilty,” Tito said.

“Give me some credit, I can make, like, three things well,” Mat said.

“It’s just a rotation, then.” Tito said.

“Hey! Do you want breakfast or not?” Mat asked, feigning to take away the plate of food he’d made.

            “Give it to me,” Tito said and Mat handed the plate back over without protest.

            “You know I truly am sorry about yesterday,” Mat said.

            Tito waved it off, “I know you are, and you’re forgiven by the way, just don’t do it again and you might not want to go back to that café anytime soon ‘cause Ellie isn’t going to be thrilled to see you.”

“Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson,” Mat said, “So, uh, Jordan…”

“Yeah?” Tito prompted giving Mat the okay to talk about it. He pretended like he was interested, but even though he’d regained his patience, he still didn’t want to talk about Ebs. That had been the deal, though, wait until today to talk about it and Mat had held up his end of the bargain.

“We talked a lot yesterday, after everything that happened in the locker room. In part it was about you and how badly I’d fucked up, but it was also about the conversation we’d had earlier. And he said that he wasn’t quite there yet, which fucking sucked, but he said that he was willing to give it a try if I knew that he wasn’t, you know, where I am right now.”

“So you guys are together?” Tito asked, feeling like he’d just eaten sandpaper.

“Kind of, I mean we’re not labeling it, but I mean, yeah, I think we’re together. And it wouldn’t have been possible without you, I’d have never had the courage to tell him,” Mat said with a grin.

“I’m glad I could have helped,” Tito said, the words sounding hollow to his own ears as he said them. Mat didn’t seem to notice because he just plowed right through. “Yeah, I was thinking about maybe going to a game at MSG,” Mat said.

“Ebs would probably like that,” Tito said, “Or you could always go someplace new with him, somewhere that neither of you have been.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Mat said.

Tito nodded, “Either way, I don’t think it really matters what you do, just who you’re with.”

Mat’s eyes narrowed, “I knew you were a secret romantic.”            

 

“I never said I wasn’t,” Tito smiled.

            “I really hope you find someone who’s deserving of you,” Mat said, “Because whoever you’re hung up over, and I know you have your reasons, they don’t deserve you.”

            “It wasn’t like that,” Tito said uncomfortably. Mat didn’t know the whole story, nor did he realize that Tito was talking about him. He wondered if Mat knew, even if he was witnessing the whole thing from a bystander’s perspective if he’d still feel the same way. Hell, Tito wasn’t even sure that it was truly how Mat felt or if he was just saying that because that’s what he was supposed to say. “But anyways, this isn't about me, it's about you."

 

            Then Mat went and had another one of his five-point nights. It was nights that like that Tito realized just how good Mat was. His name wasn’t floated around with the greats like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, but Tito knew it was just a matter of time. Rookies don’t have five point nights by chance and they certainly don’t have multiple ones coincidentally. Mat was good and he was proving that he was here to stay. On the ice, Mat and Jordan seemed to gravitate towards each other, after Mat scored, Jordan was the one rushing in and Tito was always a few steps late into the huddle. Ebs wrapped an arm around Mat’s waist pulling him closely and looked at him fondly.

Tito wasn’t a big believe in cause-and-effect; he knew that Mat was, that was the whole reason that he went on his Celine Dion kick, but he couldn’t help but think that Ebs had been the reason behind Mat’s success. Not entirely, Mat was talented no matter what was happening in his personal life, but Tito also knew that success in his personal life often blurred into his hockey performance.

They went out after for dinner, everybody living on the high of the win and celebrating in Mat’s five point night. It was no surprise that he’d been first star of the game. Seids joined them looking like a proud dad as Mat was the center of attention. Jordan was practically glued to his side the entire night drinking and buying Mat a few as well. Nothing gave away the fact that they were trying it out, at least not to people who weren’t looking, but Tito wanted to throw up at the way that Mat was staring at Ebs.

He stayed long enough so that it wouldn’t raise any red flags, but then pulled JT to the side to let him know that he was heading home.

“Are you sure?” JT asked.

“Yeah, just really tired,” Tito said.

“See you tomorrow then,” JT said and Tito snuck out of the restaurant. He’d made it about a block away when he heard footsteps follow him trying to catch up.

“Where are you going?” Mat asked.

Tito stopped and turned, “I think I’m just going to head home.”

“You were just gonna leave?” Mat asked.

“Yeah, I was trying to sneak out,” Tito said.

“But we’re celebrating,” Mat said.

“Just like we were celebrating after the Devils win?” Tito snapped.

“What?”

“You didn’t come to that, why does it matter if I miss one?” Tito asked.

“That’s different, Ebs needed me. Please stay, I want you here,” Mat said.  

“And I wanted you there, but we can’t always get what we want,” Tito said.

“You’re not being very fair,” Mat said, “That was weeks ago and what, you’re keeping score?”

“No, I’m just pointing out the fact that you don’t get to be mad at me when you did the exact same thing.”

Mat’s jaw clenched, “I had a fucking five point night, do you know how rare that is?”

“Well, I’m sorry we can’t all be as fucking fantastic as Mathew fucking Barzal,” Tito shouted.

“Fuck you, you’re ruining this for me,” Mat said.

“What about everything that you’ve ruined for me?” Tito asked. “You don’t care, you probably don’t even know, because your world revolves around you.”

“That’s not true,” Mat said. “You’re drunk anyways.”

“I had one beer,” Tito said.

“Fine then you’re just being an asshole and picking a fight because you know that it’ll never be you with the five point night,” Mat almost yelled.

Tito’s face crumpled and Mat must have realized that he’d overstepped, “I didn’t mean-“

“Yeah, you did,” Tito said, “Go back, have fun, get wasted, I don’t really give a shit.”

“Tito!” Mat called after him but Tito just continued walking. Mat didn’t follow him and he didn’t look back, but it felt like they’d broken something that night and Tito wasn’t sure if it could be fixed.


	15. Chapter 15

             Although Tito wasn’t drunk from the restaurant, he went home and pulled out the beer that Frank had left from his last visit. He’d been hesitant to leave it there, but Frank had seen Tito drink before and it was legal in Canada and after having promised to never drive, Frank had left the remainder of the six pack he’d bought at the local convenience store. Tito had never really had a need for it, he knew not to drink a lot before practice and games and he could drink at some of the other’s homes. After the awful night he’d had, Tito made an exception. There were only four bottles left but he pulled them out and sat on his couch downing them one by one. Mat’s words replayed in his head again and again. If had been a teammate that he didn’t care about or one that he wasn’t particularly close to, the words would have smarted but they’d cut decisively.

 _You’ll never have a five point night_. _You’re ruining this for me_. Tito wondered how much Mat truly thought that. He knew that Mat had been hurt and angry, he’d expected that, but they’d fought before and it had never gotten this bad. Worse yet, Tito wasn’t even sure if Mat knew _what_ they were even fighting about. He didn’t know if Mat knew that a large part of Tito’s frustration was misdirected towards Jordan. It wasn’t Mat’s fault, Tito knew that communication worked both ways, but for Mat to pretend that he was the victim, that was too much.

The alcohol didn’t make him forget; he wished it did, but it certainly numbed the pain. Tito could deal with it tomorrow, but for now, he could just sleep.

 

His phone vibrated with a text a little after six. Tito grumbled as he rolled over and saw it was from Frank- it could wait.

But then the texts kept coming. There were a few minutes between each one and the first few were from friends. Tito had half a mind to just shut off his phone all together when he got a message from Doug. _Come to the rink an hour earlier_. There was no room for discussion, no question if Tito could make it, he was expected to be there.

He still had a few hours and was about to roll over when he saw Josh calling.   

“What the fuck happened last night?” Josh asked.

“What? Did Mat tell you?” Tito mumbled.

“He didn’t have to, it’s all over the internet.”

“What?” Tito sat up. “What are you talking about?”

“Deadspin, Yahoo!Sports, it’s all over the place, someone took a cellphone video or something and sold it.”

“Fuck!” Tito shouted and hung up to go see what Josh was talking about. He wasn’t hungover enough to forget the conversation and what was said. It had been bad enough when the conversation had been just between them but now the whole world- the team, the management, his parents, Frank- were now privy to their fight.

The video was on the front page of Deadspin but there were articles and still images taken from the grainy video on almost all of the major websites. _Islander’s Barzal tears into teammate_. _Is Islander’s Beauvillier ‘ruining’ the team_. The online commenters didn’t mince their words, the fight that had played out on the streets was now a battlefield for Islanders fans and critics alike.

_This is exactly what’s wrong with the Islanders, too many big personalities._

_Beauvillier isn’t even that good._

“Fuck me,” Tito said. There were no excuses. They should have known better but back in juniors nobody cared about them, having an argument between friends never made the front page of ESPN.

 

Tito dressed up more than usual when he went to the coach’s office before practice. Mat was already there, sitting in one of the chairs looking a bit like a kid in detention. He didn’t spare Tito a glance when he entered the room but instead continued to look like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. Tito felt the same way, he knew that the locker room would be just as bad if not worse.

Snow, Weight, and a bevy of people came in right on time and Tito shrank back into his chair. He wished that he and Mat weren’t fighting right now, that way they could have a united front or at least an ally, but Tito and Mat were as mad at each other as PR was with them.

“Imagine my fucking surprise when I got a link to the video this morning,” Snow shouted. “You should have been actors, not hockey players based on that goddamned video.”

“I’m sorry,” Mat said.

“I don’t really give a fuck if you’re best friends, if you hate each other, I don’t fucking care, but this organization is now in the news more so than it’s been for the past MONTH and it’s because you two don’t know how to wait to have an argument.”             “We didn’t know anyone was filming,” Tito said.

“You should assume that people are. You are public figures now, how stupid are you? Don’t answer that because Crosby has never had this happen, Matthews hasn’t had this happen and all because you two are fighting over god knows what.

“And then you go and admit to underage drinking, which I can only assume was provided by one of your older teammates which is just another fucking problem added to this whole big mess.”

Tito wanted to defend himself and say that everyone did it. Mat drank when he was back in Canada and it was completely legal for them back in their home country, but that would have just added fuel to the fire.

“And this morning I was planning on looking into some free agents for the offseason but now I’m going to be fielding calls from every news outlet answering questions about some dumb fight.”

“I’m sorry,” Mat said. Tito echoed him.

“Mat, you can go,” Doug said and Mat almost ran out of the room at the dismissal. Tito stayed, though, dreading what else was going to be said. He knew he’d admitted to doing something illegal, albeit common amongst hockey players. He knew that from what the video had captured he was the villain.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized again.

“Whether you’re sorry or not doesn’t matter because from this footage, it looks like you are the one causing issues. ‘You’re ruining this’ that’s what Mat said, and I don’t know if Mat was equally responsible, but he was the one who had a five point night and you missed out on a team celebration.”

“I did go,” Tito protested, hearing Mat’s words thrown back at him didn’t hurt less this time around.

“Yeah, well the comments aren’t viewing you too favorably right now.”

Doug sighed and clasped his hands together, “Look, we like you Anthony, and considering that you’ve been an asset to the team last year and everything you’ve done for the organization we are willing to move past this.”

“How do I fix this?” Tito asked feeling a hard lump gather in his throat.

“You’re going to address this, take responsibility for drinking underage, for having the fight in public, for creating tension in the team. And then you’re going to have an extra PR training and do some charity work.”

“And Mat?” Tito asked.

“He’ll have an extra PR training as well.”

“But, but you heard the things that he said,” Tito protested.

“And he also had a five point night. We don’t want to have to make a choice, but if this happens again or you and Mat can’t move past this, we may have to make a decision,” Snow said. The threat was thinly veiled. Tito knew he hadn’t had the best start to the season, and he also knew that if one of them were to be traded, it would be him. Nobody wanted to be replaceable, but hearing it said so clearly made Tito’s heart sink.

“I understand, thank you,” Tito said waiting to be dismissed. He headed straight to the bathroom and gripped the sink. Looking in the mirror, his face was blotchy and he couldn’t help the choked out sob that escaped. He’d been dreaming of the NHL since he was a child and now he’d almost thrown it away over one night, over Mat. It wouldn’t happen again.

When he got to the locker room most of the guys had already arrived. Mat was already changed staring blankly from his stall in the locker room at nothing in particular. Everyone turned to look at him when he came in. He’d washed his face, but the fact that he was upset must have been projected onto his face.

“Are you okay?” Jordan asked.

“Yeah,” Tito forced a smile, “I’m good, thanks.”

Mat looked like he wanted to say something, like maybe he wanted to ask what was said after he left, but he didn’t. And Tito found himself relieved when Mat walked past him without saying a word.


	16. Chapter 16

Tito put in extra effort at practice trying to prove that he wasn’t just a screw up and that he deserved to be there. Mat was trying harder than usual, both of them trying to replace the disappointment of the video with a good performance. For the others, it was a run of the mill practice, but today both Tito and Mat had something to prove.

By the time that Tito returned to the locker room, his thighs were aching in a way that he hadn’t felt since the preseason workouts. He all but collapsed in his locker room stall, both he and Mat had been shepherded away from the media for the day. Tito knew that he would eventually have to face the music and address the drinking. He knew that PR was already drafting a statement that he’d probably have to write on Twitter or Instagram apologizing for his behavior and acknowledging that he was a role model for kids and how he’d disappointed a lot of people.

The other guys were milling about, having showered and changed, while Tito was still in his sweaty practice gearing not having moved from his spot. The guys trickled out of the locker room, idly chatting about their plans for the rest of the day and Tito was grateful that none of them referenced that damning video. They’d all seen or if they hadn’t they would see later today, Tito knew that he’d have to face the disappointment from his mother and Frank and Frank was almost worse since he was so rarely disappointed in Tito. His allowances for Tito’s mistakes were much greater and that would make the phone call even harder.

Tito sighed and finally took a shower trying to put it out of his mind for at least the time being.

 

When he came out of the shower with his towel wrapped around his waist nobody was left in the locker room. The other guys had already left and Tito was relieved that he didn’t have to pretend that everything was okay. It wasn’t and Tito’s life felt like it was in shambles. It wasn’t just the video and getting caught, it was Mat and Ebs and the fact that he might get sent down or traded on top of it all.

It was rare for him to cry, or at least in public, everyone knew him as the guy who wrote _have fun =)_ on his sticks and a jokester in the locker room, but the privacy of the empty locker room afforded him the freedom to cry and he did. Things had just piled up one after another and now it just felt like a tower ready to topple on him. His head snapped up when he heard the door open and Mat and Ebs came in. They hadn’t seen him yet. It was like slow motion as Tito watched Jordan crowd into Mat’s space and kiss him. Mat laughed and gently angled Jordan’s head to kiss him better. Tito’s mouth felt like sandpaper.

He must have eeked out a noise because Mat and Ebs split apart and turned towards him.

“Oh, Tito,” Ebs said with the decency to look chagrined, “Sorry, we didn’t see you here.”

Tito swallowed and tried to hide the fact that he’d been crying, “Yeah, I was just taking my time.”

Jordan looked unsure of what to do, if he should address the elephant in the room as a vet or if he should just pretend like he didn’t see.

“I’ll see you later, Mat,” Ebs said and trailed a hand across Mat’s stomach before he left them alone to talk it out.

“Come on, get changed and I’ll take you home,” Mat said.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Tito grit out.

“Look, I get that you’re freaked out, I was too, but we got off pretty easy, and it won’t happen again-” Mat said and Tito just couldn’t be here any longer.

“No, it won’t happen again,” Tito snapped.

“Okay, so let’s just put this behind.”

“You got off pretty easy,” Tito said, “But you’re also not the one that has to deal with the consequences.”

“I mean we both have the PR training, but that’s not really a big deal,” Mat said.

Tito laughed an ugly laugh, Mat wasn’t going to let this go. He quickly pulled on his clothes, feeling the intensity of Mat’s glare on him. They’d changed in front of each other countless times, and maybe Tito would care about it more, just being the two of them, if things were different, but he just wanted to leave. “You just have a PR training, I’m taking the blame for it.”

“What?” Mat paled.

“Come on, you can’t be that naïve,” Tito said, “I’m the one who has to apologize for drinking, for having the fight out in public, for upsetting _you_.”

“I mean, it was my fault to, though,” Mat said.

“Yeah, it was, but you aren’t the one ‘ruining everything,’” Tito said spitting Mat’s words back at him.

“We both said some things that we regret,” Mat said.

“What did I say?” Tito asked. “What did I do that was so regrettable other than getting caught?”

“You- you weren’t a supportive friend,” Mat said.

“And you weren’t a good one, you haven’t been for a while,” Tito said.

“See this is what I mean,” Mat said.

“You just have been thinking about yourself, though,” Tito said. “We all needed to be at the restaurant to celebrate _your_ performance. _You_ thought it was a good idea to set me up on a date that I didn’t ask for. Everything is about you and what you want, it isn’t about how your actions affect others or anything like that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mat asked.

“It means what I just said,” Tito shouted.

“I didn’t ask to get a lighter punishment than you,” Mat said, “I didn’t ask for people to say the shit that they’re saying online.”             “I know, but I’m still the one that will be traded if it happens again,” Tito said.

“What?” Mat sounded devastated.

“Yeah, Snow and Weight were quite clear about what would happen the next time; turns out they don’t want me to ruin everything either,” Tito said.

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Mat said.

“I don’t think they’d really consult you, if you were mad enough at me, I’d be gone,” Tito said.

“All because of a fight?” Mat asked.

“They want to keep you happy,” Tito said, “That’s the power you have on this team, you’re going to win the Calder, the front office knows that, we all know it, you think that they won’t do anything to keep you here, to keep you happy?”

“But…”

“If they thought that any of us, me included, might make you want to leave, we’ll be gone without a second thought.”

“That’s not true,” Mat said, although a little more uncertain.             “Ask Jordan, he’ll agree,” Tito said. “We all know it, it’s the same with JT, people piss him off enough they’ll be gone.”

“Not you, though,” Mat said, “They’d never trade you.” Tito rolled his eyes, “You can’t say that.”

“Yeah, I can, because if what you say is right, and I doubt that it is, but let’s say that I had that much power on this team. They could never trade you. If they want to keep me happy they’ll never trade you.”

“If you still liked me at that point,” Tito said.

“Shut up, okay. Yeah, we fight sometimes and yesterday was pretty bad, but families fight all the time. Liana and I have had much worse and we’re fine. There’s nothing that I could think of that you could possibly do that would make me want you traded. It’s not going to happen. But I would want to be traded if you were. I’d ask for a trade the minute they announced the transaction because I can’t imagine being on a team without you. I don’t want to, either, okay?” Mat said.

“Family?” Tito asked.

“Yeah, you’re family,” Mat said as if Tito had missed the memo, “Didn’t you know?”

“No,” Tito said, feeling a lump in his throat.

“God, I know we don’t talk about our feelings that much, but I didn’t realize you had no clue. My parents are pretty much ready to adopt you at this point, every time Liana and I talk she asks about you- you’re family,” Mat said.

 Tito, for once, was at a loss for words. He didn’t realize how much he meant to Mat. They didn’t talk like this often, but then again, they didn’t fight like this often. He grabbed Mat for a hug, pulling him closely and taking his friend off guard, but Mat wrapped his arms around Tito and held him tightly.

“You’re not going anywhere, I won’t let them,” Mat whispered into Tito’s hair as he buried his face in Mat’s shoulder.

“I missed you,” Tito whispered.

Mat laughed, “It was only for a day.”

“I know, but still, I really missed you,” Tito said.

“Can you imagine if we really got into a fight?” Mat asked.

“No,” Tito said, “Though this was pretty bad.”

“It was, but it’ll be okay, I promise,” Mat said, “It’ll blow over and nobody will think twice.”

“I hope so,” Tito said.

“So we’re good?” Mat asked.

“Yeah, we’re good,” Tito replied with a smile, and for the first time in a while, he truly thought it’ll be okay.


	17. Chapter 17

Tito left for the day with the written script from PR that he had been told to write on Twitter and Instagram. He posted it, tripled checked before driving home and hoped that this would help put the issue to bed.

“You know you can tell me anything,” Frank said when Tito got around to calling him.

“I know,” Tito said, “I’m really sorry. Fuck, I’m so embarrassed about that damn video.”

“I mean I care about that, but that wasn’t what I meant.”

“What did you mean?” Tito asked.

“That you and Mat are dating. You are dating right?” Frank asked.

“No, why?” Tito said with dread filling him.

“The video kind of looked like a lover’s spat,” Frank said.

“Don’t ever say that again,” Tito said.  “No, we’re not together. He doesn’t even look at me like that.”

“Are you sure?” Frank asked.

“Believe me, I’m sure.”

“I’m not,” Frank said.

“The video-”

“No, not the video. Uh, have you seen Mat’s Twitter lately?” Frank asked.

“No, I’ve been trying to avoid everything online since the story leaked. Oh God, what now?” Tito asked.

“No, just… I’ll stay on the phone but you should go look at it.”

Tito sighed and pulled up Mat’s profile and saw that he’d attached an image with a lot of text. Tito clicked on it to enlarge the photo and read it. Frank was still on the other end of the phone, breathing evenly while he waited for Tito to finish reading.

_In lieu of recent events, I felt the need to clarify a few things that the much discussed video didn’t capture. Anthony and I have been friends for years, best friends even, but as is normal in regards to most friendships, we have arguments. Unfortunately, one of our arguments was caught on video and came under public speculation and scrutiny. In addition, one of the remarks alluded to the fact that Anthony had been drinking underage. Although the video just I wanted to clarify that I too had been drinking that evening. We know that we are role models and take this very seriously, but assigning blame to Tito is not fair when I was doing the exact same thing. Finally, much of the criticism has unfairly been targeted toward Tito and although they might not have been captured, I too made my share of mistakes and said comments that I regret. I have personally apologized to him and we have moved forward, but saying that he was ‘ruining everything’ was cruel and unfair. Playing on the same line with him, going on this journey together- has been amazing. It wouldn’t be the same without him, so please stop speculating. He’s still my best friend and I wouldn’t want anyone else. So I’m sorry to everyone I’ve let down and I’m sorry that such a private moment was seen in public. - MB_

Tito’s mouth dried up as he read through the message again. He’d been forced to post an apology on his social media, but Mat hadn’t. Mat hadn’t needed to do this, but he’d done it and Tito knew that he’d done it for him. This was part of what Mat had promised, that he wouldn’t let Tito go. “I don’t- he wasn’t told to do that,” Tito said.

“This is a fucking big gesture,” Frank said.

“I don’t- I don’t know what to do with this,” Tito said.

“Okay, did you seriously read this and not think Mat has feelings for you?” Frank asked.

“No, he’s dating someone,” Tito said.

“But did you tell him you like him?” Frank asked, “Because you two have always been really fucking weird about each other.”

“No, I didn’t get a chance,” Tito said.

“Well maybe he’s dating someone because he didn’t know that you were available. Hell, does he even know that you aren’t straight because it’s not even like you told _me_ , so I’m pretty sure that you haven’t told him.”

“No…”

“Look, all I’m saying is that you don’t do that for someone you don’t love,” Frank said, “and a guy like Mat isn’t going to be single for long.”

“I don’t know,” Tito said.

“Look, you know him better than anyone, but from where I’m standing that’s pretty much a romantic-comedy grand gesture.”

“He’s with someone,” Tito said.

“Yeah, and I’m not saying that you should barge in just ruin things, but maybe you should let him know that you’re interested because that message just seemed like he is.”

“Uh right, I better go, but thanks,” Tito said.

“And you might want to wait on talking to Mom, just give her some time to cool down.”

“Thanks.”

Tito tried to tamp down the hope that Frank had resurrected. What if this whole thing with Ebs had just been a test to see if Tito was jealous. What if it was a plan that Mat and Ebs had had to make Taylor jealous as well? Frank was right that Tito hadn’t let Mat know that he was an option. That was what got him in this mess in the first place about living arrangements. Tito tried to remind himself that Mat was with Ebs, his childhood crush. But then there was the note and Mat had said he considered Tito as family and who does that? Maybe Frank was right, and that Mat did have feelings for him but they were just both too scared to acknowledge it.

 

Before Tito knew it, he was already driving over to the Seidenberg’s place while he still had courage from Frank’s pep talk. Mat’s car was there and Tito breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he could have this conversation before he lost the courage. There was another car in the driveway when Tito arrived, but he ignored it, probably one of Rebecca’s friends.

When Dennis opened the door, he smiled, though seemed a little surprised to see Tito. “Hey, is Mat here? I have to talk with him,” Tito said.

“Yeah, he’s in his room, but-”

“Thanks,” Tito said and cut him off. He raced down the stairs and knocked on Mat’s door, surprised that he wasn’t playing NHL or Skyping back home.

“Shit!” Mat yelped, “Hold on, don’t come in.”

Mat opened the door a crack and Tito saw that he was shirtless and out of breath, “Hey, I didn’t know that you were coming over.”

“Uh, yeah,” Tito said. “I saw the note you posted on Twitter.”

“Yeah?” Mat grinned.

“Um, I was really surprised by it,” Tito started. He heard the bed shift behind Mat and his stomach dropped.

“Is Ebs here?” Tito asked.

“Yeah,” Mat smiled patiently.

“Oh shit, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Tito said.

“It’s fine, nothing that can’t be continued later,” Mat said.

“No! No, I just wanted to stop by and thank you. It really means a lot,” Tito said.

“Of course,” Mat said, “I wasn’t going to let you take the fall.”

“Yeah, um, thanks, well, have fun, I guess. See you tomorrow,” Tito said. He turned and headed back up the stairs. Of course, Mat was in love with Ebs. Tito was dumb to read anything more into that post. Mat was just trying to make things right.

“Did you want to stay for dinner?” Dennis said with a sympathetic look that Tito could only hope was about the video incident.

“No, I can’t stay anyways, thanks though Seids,” Tito said and his voice betrayed him with an unnatural thickness. He headed back to his car and took a second glance at the mystery car. He should have known, it was Ebs’s.  

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is more of a filler chapter cuz the next one will get a little more dramatic. Also a question? Would you prefer some more short fics in between like the one I posted earlier?

Tito didn’t want to go home, not yet at least. He knew that he’d go home eventually, but for right now he just wanted to drive. There was only so far you could go on the island and it’s not even like Tito liked to drive into the city of away from the few spots that he’d fit into his routine: his favorite coffee shop, his favorite restaurants, his favorite park. Most of the places weren’t secrets anymore. He’d brought teammates along or in most cases he’d been introduced to these places by teammates, but the park was his alone.

It was a small park, sanctioned off as a corner to provide some reprieve from the craziness of the city. For most, Tito included, New York was nice, but it was exhausted even being on the Island.

Today, though, it was the only place he could go to collect his thoughts. There was still life in the park. Tito usually visited once or twice a month, but in the time that he’d been there nobody had recognized him or approached him, at least not for an autograph or a photo.

Today, there was a slight overcast but there were still a few people milling about in the park. Sometimes, families came by after school on the way home, but in the afternoons it was often retirees and people with odd schedules looking for a place to pass some time.

Tito sat down on a park bench just thinking about this awful day. How stupid had he been to listen to Frank? Frank wasn’t a part of the team, he didn’t see Mat every day. He didn’t hear Mat gush over Ebs, see them together, know that they were fucking around or doing whatever Tito had interrupted. Mat was his friend. He was just his friend and though he’d willingly implicated himself in that PR disaster that Tito was mired it, it didn’t mean anything. Frank, however unknowingly, had preyed on Tito’s hope. It lay in the corner of his mind buried beyond the reach of reason and proof and Tito had thought he’d killed it. Today, Frank had resurrected it.

He sighed. There were five missed calls from his mother and she was calling for the sixth time.

“I was wondering when you’d answer,” his mother said. As predicted irritation and disappointment seeped into her voice, “I just don’t know what you two were thinking.”

And Tito didn’t know what to say. He knew he was supposed to explain himself, he knew that he was supposed to apologize, but the words died in his mouth. He felt like a six-year-old boy again, wanting to crawl into his mother’s lap and bury his face in her shoulder expecting all his problems to go away. “Maman,” Tito said, his voice cracked and the tidal wave of emotions that he had managed to stave off flooded back. He wanted to go home, he wanted to see her in person.

            “What’s wrong, Anthony?” His mother asked. Her disappointment gave way to concern. Even on the phone, she knew exactly when things were wrong.

            “I can’t say,” Tito said.

            “Do I need to come down there?” She asked.

            “No, no, it’s just been a really bad day,” Tito said.

            “Anthony, you know that there is nothing you could say or do that would ever make me or your father stop loving you. You know that, right?” She asked.

            Tito swallowed, “Yeah, but-”

            “No buts, there’s nothing that you could say that would even surprise me at this point,” she said.

            And Tito knew she was giving him an opening. He’d never had a proper talk with his parents or Frank about this, but he was pretty sure they all knew. Frank had known about Mat or at least had an inkling about it. It hadn’t escaped Tito that his parents had stopped asking him about girls in Shawinigan and instead had rarely asked if he was planning on bringing _anyone_ home. It wasn’t straightforward, Tito had never, at least in his memory commented about a male celebrity or about any crush, but his family was close and they weren’t naïve either.

            And for once, maybe it was just all the emotions and the overwhelming weight that he’d been carrying that Tito broke. “Maman, je l’aime,” he said.

            “Oh,” his mother sighed although she didn’t seem offended.

“You knew?” Tito asked.

“I’m not surprised, but thank you for telling me, I know that was hard,” she paused, “it’s not mutual?”

            Tito tried to choke out a response, but his mother already knew.  

            “Oh honey, merde, I’m so sorry,” his mother said. “Anyone would be so lucky to have you.”

            “I just- I don’t know how to get over him,” Tito said, clenching the phone to his cheek and bowing his head. “He’s with someone else, and I just- I love him so much.”

            “If it’s not mean to be, then you’ll get over it,” his mother reassured, “I know that it seems impossible now, but I promise you’ll be okay. You and he will both be okay and you’ll meet someone new and he’ll seem so insignificant. It just doesn’t seem that way now. If I could make it stop hurting for you, I would.”

            “I know,” Tito sniffled. “Thanks, maman.”

            “Are you sure you don’t want me to come down?” She asked.

            “Yeah, thanks, I just needed to talk to you,” Tito said.

            “Anytime, and don’t think that we’re not talking about that video later,” she said.

            “Yeah,” Tito said with a faint laugh. “I love you.”

            “I love you too, and let us know if you change your mind about us coming down.”

            “I’ll be fine thanks,” Tito said and hung up. He knew he wasn’t going to escape his mother’s frustration but he felt an odd sense of relief. Now his family definitely knew and they were okay with it and suddenly he felt that he could breathe just a little easier knowing that other people knew about his crush on Mat. It didn’t feel, though, like it would end. It didn’t feel like those elementary school crushes that he’d gotten over when he found someone more interesting and who was more interested in him. He knew his mother was right, she wouldn’t steer him in the wrong direction, one day he would get over Mat and this heartache that felt like it was ripping him in two would fade into a dull ache. He just hoped it would be one day soon.


	19. Chapter 19

The only good thing about the end of the season was the fact that Tito could put whatever was happening between Ebs and Mat towards the back of his mind. There was still that chance, a small chance, but Tito didn’t focus on statistics, that they would make the playoffs. It was a long shot, one of those Hail Marys that relied not only on their performance, but also on a domino of effects from other teams’ failures. Still, their window of opportunity hadn’t closed and so long as they had a glimmer of hope, playoffs were still a possibility.

            With that common goal, the joking died at practice. The vets knew that it was probably too late, in order for everything to turn out okay too many things had to fall into place and luck only got you so far. Mat, though, didn’t seem to realize how far off making the playoffs actually was. Tito was pretty sure that Ebs knew, Edmonton had been in this same position for far too long for him to realize that this year was over.

            They had a few more games of the regular season, one of which took them to New Jersey. Tito had an ill feeling heading down there. It was irrational, he knew that, but ever since he’d found out that Ebs and Taylor had a thing, or at least had had one in the past, New Jersey had been clouded in his mind. It didn’t make any sense, Tito knew. He wasn’t sure what he thought would happen at the game either. It wasn’t as though Ebs and Taylor would drop everything and start making out on the ice- that was a worst case scenario- but maybe it was meeting of Jordan’s past and his present that unsettled Tito. For as much as Jordan said there was nothing between him and Taylor, that he had long since exorcized that part of his life, Tito didn’t believe him. He knew because he’d tried the exact same thing with Mat, pushing those dormant feelings aside and trying to ignore them; it hadn’t worked.

            So here they were, walking in the depths of the Devils’ rink after a practice- they’d arrived one day early to get used to the ice- and a few Devils were still hanging around. One of them, Taylor Hall. Tito wondered if it was planned. He’d seen him wandering the halls before the Islanders took to the ice, but Tito wasn’t friends with Taylor. He just hoped that by the time they were done with practice he’d be gone.

            Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. They had a short practice, just enough to practice their power play and penalty kill and get their legs warmed up. Even for as short as the practice was though, they were all driven by that glimmer of hope that the playoffs were still reachable. Nevertheless, it was a good practice and it fueled the little bit of hope they had left. So Tito walked towards the locker room with the other guys, a few paces behind Ebs and Mat who were glued together. He tried to be engaged with whatever Brock was telling him, but his eyes focused back to Mat and Ebs who were deep in their own conversation. And then, because nothing in Tito’s life was working out the way he had hoped, Taylor popped out of one of the rooms.

            There was a moment that time froze. Tito wondered why he was always the one that had to witness this, to know what was happening before it did. He watched as Taylor looked at where Ebs’s hand was placed, dangerously low on Mat’s hip. There were no cameras nearby, but even if there were, it wouldn’t show anything incriminating. Hockey players got into each others’ personal spaces without a second thought. But for someone who had lived with Ebs for years, for someone who had shared his bed, memorized his movements, it would have been clear. Taylor’s face fell as he realized that Jordan was with Mat. No matter what their relationship had been or what Taylor may have hoped it could become, Jordan had moved on with another hockey player and it was now being shoved in his face.

            “Hey, Taylor,” Ebs said when he noticed Taylor in the hallways.

            “Hallsy-” Another voice said from the room that Taylor had just left. Nico Hischier walked out, almost bumping into an immobile Taylor.

            “Hey man, nice to meet you,” Mat said and Tito just cringed. Even though he was pretty sure that Ebs had talked a little bit about Edmonton and Taylor, Tito was now almost certain that Mat didn’t know about their past relationship.

            Taylor’s face pinched up and he reached out to shake Mat’s hand a little more aggressively than was necessary. “Congratulations on a great season so far.”

            “Mat’s probably going to be up for the Calder,” Ebs said.

            “Well, that’s a little-” Mat started, but was cut off by Hallsy.

            “Nico’s had a fantastic year as well,” Taylor said as he reached an arm around a stunned Nico Hischier and tugged him closer.

            “Mat’s had three five-point nights,” Ebs said.

            “Nico was first overall draft pick,” Taylor said.

            Both Nico and Mat were confused at the spat that they’d seemingly found themselves implicated in.

            “Well, that must be a bonding experience,” Ebs said with barely restrained animosity. A few guys who’d gone to the Visitor’s dressing room now came out in various states of dressing to see what was going on, but if Ebs and Taylor realized they’d gained an audience they definitely didn’t care. 

            “Come on,” Mat said trying to tug Ebs over to the locker room, but Jordan wasn’t focused on him, he was focused on Taylor.

            “It is. He’s the best roommate I’ve ever had,” Taylor said and those were fighting words. Jordan’s jaw clenched tightly and he just seemed to pull Mat closer to him.

            “Well I’m glad you’re happy,” he spat.

            “Apparently you are, too,” Taylor said.

            Nico just looked uncomfortable, but Mat was just pissed. “Ebs, let’s go, man,” someone- Anders- yelled and just like that Ebs seemed to snap out of the bad mood. The cool, calm façade that he usually had was put back up and he flashed a reassuring smile at Mat who didn’t look happy at all.

            Things dispersed quickly after that, some of the vets just shook their heads at the scene, Nico just looked embarrassed and apologetic and then Tito looked up at Taylor who was staring right at him. He didn’t like the look in his eye, but didn’t think much of it.

            “That was…” Tito started.

            “Weird. That was really fucking weird,” Josh Bailey filled in.

 

            Instead of hanging out with Ebs, Mat seemed to gravitate towards Seids and Tito for the time being. Everyone was giving Jordan a berth of space for him to cool down although he seemed much better by the time they were heading back to the hotel.

            Mat was on the bed fiddling with the remote and Tito could tell he was playing that awkward conversation over in his head. He wasn’t ready to talk about it, and Tito wasn’t going to push, but in a perverse way, he hoped that Mat would start to realize that there was something between Ebs and Taylor.

            They were midway through an episode of Fixer Uppers when Tito’s phone vibrated with a new text message.

            _Hey, can we talk?_ Tito frowned at the number- one he didn’t recognize.

            _Sorry, who is this?_ Tito typed back.

            _Oops, It’s Taylor Hall._

            Before Tito could respond, he got another response. _I think we want the same thing, we could help each other out._

Tito’s mouth dried up. He wasn’t sure what Taylor meant by that, but he was almost certain that despite everything, despite all the animosity, Taylor wanted Ebs, he just wasn’t sure where _he_ fit in.

 _I have a little time later_. Tito replied warily, he just hoped he wouldn’t regret meeting up with Taylor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I'm in the middle of a crazy move that's been really stressful so updates are a little irregular for the time being. As always hmu if there's anything Mat/Tito that you'd like to read either here or on tumblr @ queenofbroadstreet.


	20. Chapter 20

            Tito felt guilty when it came time for him to leave the hotel to meet with Taylor. He still wasn't sure if he should even go, it seemed like he was going behind Mat's and Ebs's backs to talk with Taylor about whatever he wanted to talk about. "I'll be back later," Tito said as he grabbed his wallet and went to leave their shared room.

            "Where are you going?" Mat asked and he perked up.

            "Just going to grab a drink," Tito said.

            "Give me a few minutes and I'll join you," Mat said.

            "Uh- actually I'm meeting someone else," Tito said and hated the way that Mat's face fell.

            "Oh, I didn't know that you knew people in the area," Mat said.

            "Um... It's complicated. A friend of a friend," Tito shrugged, "I don't really know, but they wanted to chat while I was here. I won't be long, though, so we can definitely do something later."

            "Yeah, sure," Mat said. Toto heard the disappointment in Mat's voice, but he knew he shouldn't feel guilty. It wasn't like he was blowing Mat off for Taylor Hall, they hadn't made any plans before, Mat had just taken for granted the fact that Tito would be free.

            Taylor had picked a place not too far from Tito's hotel, definitely in walking distance and just a few minutes from the arena anyways.

            "Hey," Taylor said when he spotted Tito open the door to the bar/restaurant. It was a sleepy little place, one that Tito was sure became busier on game days. "Sorry, I think we got off on the wrong foot earlier. I'm Taylor."

            "Tito," Tito greeted coolly and shook Taylor's hand. The animosity that he'd seen from Taylor at the rink was gone.

            "How's your season going?" Taylor asked.

            "Why did you want to meet with me?" Tito said getting down to business. The longer he was here, the more likely it would be that someone would spot them and recognize them. The last thing Tito needed was to get caught talking with Taylor Hall, especially after the debacle of the afternoon.

            Taylor cleared his throat, "I think we have a common interest."

            Tito blinked and waited for Taylor to continue, "Neither of us like Jordan and Mat together."

            "I'm not talking about this with you," Tito scoffed.

            "I'm not wrong though," Taylor said, "It's quite obvious how you feel about Mat, and well, today made it quite clear how I feel about Ebs… But you already knew that."

            "I don't know what you're talking about," Tito said, "We're all good friends, that's all."

            "If that's what you're telling everyone then you should get better at lying. You and Mat certainly aren't 'good friends' and Jordan and Mat are definitely not just 'good friends'."

            "Even if Ebs and Mat were together, and that's a big if... why are you talking to me about this?" Tito asked.

            "It benefits you if they break up," Taylor said, "Look even if it's just as Mat's friend, don't you want the best for him?"

            "And you know what's best for him?" Tito asked incredulously.

            "He seems like a good guy, he deserves someone who can love him. Ebs isn't that," Taylor said.

            Tito froze. It was like all of his hopes and fears were confirmed all at once. "Why do you say that?"

            Taylor sighed and fished out his phone, he pulled up a string of messages between him and Ebs that had been going on for a few weeks.

            _It's not fair, I'm trying to move on._ Ebs had written.

_But you can't. Don't you see why? Because deep down you know that we're meant to be together._

_That's not true._

_Isn't it? I know I fucked up, we both did, but I want you I'll always want you and you know that you want me, too. It's not a coincidence that we were both traded to the Metropolitan division, Ebs_.

_Just because I was in love with you then, doesn’t mean I can be with you now._

            "I knew that he was seeing someone or other people, I didn't know who. I certainly didn't think that it would be Mat Barzal," Taylor said, "Learned that today."

            "Look, from these messages he really doesn't want to get back with you," Tito said.

            "We have a complicated relationship," Taylor admitted, "The trade wasn't good and certainly the breakup wasn't either."

            "Don't hurt my friend," Tito gritted out.

            "You're not friends. At least not on your end," Taylor said with certainty, "You look at Mat the way Jordan used to look at me."

            "I will make something very clear, I don't care if you are Taylor Hall, if you try anything to break them up, I will make your life a living hell," Tito warned, "If you do anything to hurt Mat, I will ruin you."

            Taylor didn't seem surprised or particularly threatened, "I'm not going to hurt Mat, Jordan will. And no matter what you say, deep down you know that's true. Because even, even if Jordan never wants to get back with me or speak to me again, you know he doesn't really love Mat. He might say he does and he might even believe it, but deep down you know I'm right and from the way that Mat looks at him, when shit hits the fan, and it will, he's going to be the one most hurt by it."

            "I mean it Taylor, don't you dare try anything."

            "I get that you don't like me, I know, and believe me, I would prefer it if Mat wasn't involved. But I let him go once without a fight. I'm not doing that again," Taylor said, "Even if it means that people get hurt in the process."

            "Fuck you," Tito spat, "I'll see you tomorrow at the game."

            He walked at a slower pace back to the hotel. Knowing what he knew now, he should have never gone to meet with Taylor. Then if something happened, he could be ignorant. But now, he was implicated. He wasn't even sure if Taylor was going to do anything, but he was certain that he and Ebs were talking. None of the texts were incriminating. By no definition was Ebs cheating on Mat because that would have been a different story. But even if Taylor was lying, Tito knew one part was true: Jordan wasn't in love with Mat and Tito wasn't sure if he would ever be. He'd been frank with Mat and said that he hadn't had the same feelings at the beginning, but now, it didn't seem like things had really changed, at least from Tito's end.

            Mat was in their room almost in the exact same spot that Tito had left him. The only blessing was that Ebs wasn't there. Tito wasn't sure how he would have handled that.

            "Rough night?" Mat asked after Tito faceplanted on the bed.

            "You have no idea," Tito said.

            "Believe me, I think I do," Mat said, "That thing with Ebs-"

            "Are you happy with him?" Tito asked. The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them.

            "What? Yeah," Mat said, "I mean that thing earlier today was really fucking weird, but I mean ex-teammates don't always get along."

            "Taylor's not an ex-teammate, you know that right?"

            "What? Yeah they were on the Oilers together," Mat said.

            "No, I mean they aren't just ex-teammates," Tito said, "You know that right?"

            "What? Like they dated?" Mat asked.

            "Yeah," Tito said.

            "Why are you doing this?" Mat asked.

            "Me? What about him?" Tito asked, "He's the one who didn't tell you- and he should have."

            "That's not true," Mat said, though Tito could hear the uncertainty creep into his voice.

            "Then maybe I'm wrong? But has he ever talked about him?" Tito asked.

            "Ebs and I are good, even if you can't see that," Mat said.

            "I just don't want you to get hurt, because from what I saw today, there are a lot of unresolved issues between them."

            Mat stood up and grit his teeth, "What I saw was two people have a fight, that's it."

            "Why are you defending him?" Tito asked.

            "Because that's what you do for the people you love," Mat said.

            "You love him?" Tito asked.

            "Yeah, yeah I do," Mat replied.

            Tito swallowed, "Well, I hope for your sake that I'm wrong."

            "Whatever, I'm going to bed," Mat said. Tito didn't bother reminding him that it was only 10:30. They each got ready for bed, Tito decided to go to sleep early, just hoping that this day would end. Mat turned away from him, burying his face in his pillow to block out any glow from the street lights.

            "You're wrong," Mat said, but deep down, Tito knew he wasn't, and he could only hope that Mat realized that too before it got even worse.


	21. Chapter 21

      Tito got slammed into the boards during warmups. It was too hard, unfriendly, unlike the usual warmup that involved them nudging each other playfully. His shoulder crunched up against the plexiglass awkwardly and he didn't need to turn around to see that Ebs was the one who'd smashed him. The whole day had been off. Mat wasn't ignoring him, per say, but he certainly wasn't going out of his way to hang out with him and by the time they were warming up for the game, Mat had told Ebs about the conversation they'd had last night.   
Tito knew that this wasn't the extent of Jordan's wrath and he didn't want to be on the other end of it, but he knew that the détente that he had had with Jordan would fall apart. He shrugged it off though, and went back to warming up. Mat had foregone their usual ritual, opting instead to just take shots on goal, so Tito was left by himself. He surveyed the rink, looking over to the Devils and seeing Taylor Hall skate behind the goal. Nico caught his eye for a moment and offered a sympathetic grimace, although Tito knew that he had nothing to apologize for. He had been roped into the Taylor/Ebs mess just like the rest of them and given the fact that he was Taylor's rookie, Tito wondered if he knew more than he led on.   
If Tito thought that there had been tension in the previous games, this game took it to a new level. Ebs had it out for Taylor and it was aggravated by the fact that Mat now knew about the two of them. The checks were harder and the Devils retaliated. But for the game, Jordan and Taylor were setting the tone, the rest of them were just trying to keep up.   
"What the fuck are you doing?" Tito heard as they squared off at the faceoff.   
Mat and Taylor were facing each other and Tito could see that Mat was trying to maintain his composure. "I'm fighting for what I want," Taylor shouted back.   
That was enough to set Mat off kilter enough for Taylor to take the puck away. The distraction was enough for the Devils to get a three on two breakaway and score. All the second line could do was watch in dismay as Nico put the puck in the back of the net.   
"Fuck!" Mat shouted as he slammed his stick against the board. The rest of the game didn't go much better, but Weight made sure that Ebs and Taylor weren't on the ice at the same time again- they couldn't afford to make another mistake like that again.  
   
"Wrong locker room, bud," Seids said when Taylor came into their dressing room after the game. It was rare that Tito saw Seids annoyed. He was a dad of three and off the ice he had the patience of a saint. But here, he sized himself up as if he was a bodyguard.  
"I need to talk to Jordan," Taylor said unfazed by Seids.  
 Everyone seemed to turn towards Ebs, waiting for a cue from him for how they should progress.  
 "What the fuck are you doing?" Ebs asked.   
"I want to talk to you, please," Taylor said.  
Jordan sighed, "I have a few minutes." He sighed and pulled on his shirt to follow Taylor out of the locker room into neutral territory. Tito, though, wasn't paying any attention to him. Instead, like most times, he was looking over at Mat who watched everything unfold like the rest of them. The worst part was, ever since Taylor had come into their dressing room, Jordan didn't even look at Mat once.   
Mat swallowed thickly as everyone just shook their heads and finished getting their gear off and Tito slipped out of the room. It wasn't any of his business and he should have taken a cue from the vets to let Jordan do whatever the fuck he wanted, but the conversation that he had with Taylor nagged at the back of his mind. He trusted Ebs enough not to cheat, but he didn't trust Taylor not to try and intervene.  
It wasn't hard to find them, their voices were raised enough in the otherwise quiet corridor that Tito easily found them.  
"You had your chance, and you blew it," Ebs said.  
"I know. I knew a while ago, but I didn't know how to fix it, but now I know and I want to try again. Please," Taylor begged.  
"That's not fair, I'm with someone else," Ebs said.  
"And I'm sure that Mat's great, but what we have is greater than whatever you and he have."  
"You don't know that, you don't know us at all," Ebs said.  
"I know you, I know that you still love me and a part of you always will. We were the first for everything and that doesn't just stop. You know that," Taylor said.  
"Just because we had a past doesn't mean we have a future," Ebs said.  
"Tell me you're in love with him, that it's better than anything we ever had," Taylor dared, "Say it." They lulled into silence and Tito's heart sank for Mat. He and Jordan were just in different chapters in their relationship. Mat had said he loved Ebs and Jordan was here unable to defend his relationship at all.   
"Please, give me, give us a second chance," Taylor asked.   
"I'm with Mat," Jordan said and turned around almost running into Tito. "Stay out of this," he said as he checked shoulders with him.   
"Don't try anything," Tito warned a deflated Taylor. The worst part was, Ebs had never directly shot him down. He was in a relationship with Mat, but he never said that he was in love with him or that he even saw a future together and that didn't settle right because Mat, Mat deserved the best. He deserved someone who wanted him and chose him and not a guy confused between his current relationship and his past one.   
"This is none of your business," Ebs snapped as they headed back to the locker room.  
"Isn't it? Mat's my friend," Tito said.  
"Give it a rest, Mat isn't just a friend for you."  
"Just like Taylor isn't just a friend for you?" Tito challenged.  
"You should have never told him about that," Ebs said.  
"I shouldn't have had to. The fact that you hid it from him tells me everything I need to know. The fact that you couldn't tell Taylor that you love Mat just shows me how little you value him. And he deserves better than that."  
"Look, you don't understand anything about our relationship, but let's make one thing clear, even if things ended between us, nothing would ever happen between the two of you. He doesn't even see you, and you know what, he never will."  
Tito hated the way that Jordan's words cut. He knew that they were said out of anger. He knew that Ebs probably thought that he was overstepping his boundaries, but it was everything that the terrible voice in the back of his head said. It was everything that he worried about, that even if they didn't last, Mat would just move onto someone else. Mat never even looked at Tito. He was just always the friend, the sidekick, the linemate, and that was all he'd ever be.  
"Mat deserves better," Tito repeated and when they got onto the bus, he headed straight for the back and put his headphones in. He didn't talk to Mat and Mat wasn't talking to Ebs and their entire line was just fucked up. But by the time he finally went to bed, barely having uttered "Goodnight" to Mat, Tito was sure of two things. Firstly, Mat was going to get hurt and secondly, it was never going to be Tito that he turned and looked at.   
 


	22. Chapter 22

      After that disastrous game things were different. Tito spent most of his time in the fringes of the team, heading to practice and then heading back home afterwards. Most of the vets had thought that the funk he settled in would work itself out. They didn't even know the cause of it, and they certainly didn't know it involved teammates. The small blessing from all of this was that they had a long home stretch and Tito wouldn't have to room with Mat anytime soon. To be honest, Tito didn't think that he could deal with that. It wasn't even Mat's fault that Tito's literal heart had been pulverized. Had Jordan just said those words in anger, Tito might have gotten over them. The initial sting would have faded away into a dull insecurity in him. But it was different. It was one thing when Tito's fears were his alone, but hearing them voiced aloud gave him an uneasy confirmation. The fact the Jordan had used those words just reaffirmed the fact that Mat wasn't looking at him and he would never spare him a second glance at least not in the way that Tito wanted.

Even if Seids didn't ask or say anything, Tito was pretty sure he knew or at least had figured out enough, but Tito trusted him not to say anything to Mat. Besides, for as good as they got along, Mat was his rookie and Tito knew where Seids's loyalties rested. Worse yet, there were some veterans who he got along well with, some who he knew would sympathize with at least his side of the story, but he remembered what management had told him before. He had to keep Mat happy and if something got out, if Mat became aware of his feelings, not only could that threaten their friendship, but Tito's future as an Islander.

Frank at least was in his corner, Tito knew he always would be and after his failed suggestion that Mat did like him, he'd been even nicer than usual. But having Frank and his family in his corner didn't help with the team. It didn't help with the fact that Ebs was flat out ignoring him and Mat was spending less time with Tito. It wasn't helping him get over Mat, though to be fair, he wasn't trying very hard either.

Mat had invited himself over one afternoon after Tito had declined joining some of the other guys for lunch. It hadn't been a question if Mat COULD come over. If Mat had asked, Tito would have said no and Mat knew that. Instead, Mat opened the passenger side door of Tito's car just as he was getting ready to leave for the day.

"What about your car?" Tito asked.

Mat just shrugged, "I came with Seids today, I wanted to hang out with you."

"What if I had plans?" Tito asked.

"You don't," Mat said, "But if you did, I'd Uber home or something.

"You've been weird lately," Mat said, "Well, weirder than usual." He joked but it fell flat. When Tito didn't even crack a smile, Mat knew that something serious had happened.

"Sorry," Tito said, "I guess I'm just caught up in the playoff stuff."

Mat leveled him with a look, "We're all caught up in the playoff push, so don't try and tell me that that's all it is."

Tito shrugged, "You have enough on your plate, I guess I just didn't think it really mattered."

"What are you talking about?" Mat asked, horror etched on his face.

Tito just shook his head and swallowed, "I mean, you have a lot going on with Jordan."

"Yeah, things are a little weird right now, but whatever is going on between me and Jordan has nothing to do with me and you, okay? You can always come to me, you know that, right? You have to know that."

"Yeah, I know, it's just... I didn't want to bother you," Tito said.

"What's going on?" Mat asked with sincerity and concern that made Tito almost want to cry.

Tito swallowed, "You know how I was kind of hung up on someone earlier?"

Mat nodded.

"Well, I guess it just became clear that there's not even a possibility for me," Tito said.

"What happened with her?" Mat asked. There it was. Mat had assumed all along that Tito was talking about a woman. Tito's stomach churned at the thought, but the misunderstanding also afforded him the security of being honest. As long as Mat thought that he was talking about a woman everything would be fine. As long as Mat thought that he was straight, he'd never second guess if Tito was talking about him.

"I guess I just thought that the relationship wasn't so serious," Tito shrugged, "I guess at some point, I thought that they'd break up and that I'd have a chance."

"And now?" Mat asked.

"I guess it just became clear that no matter what happens, even if they break up, there's no place for me," Tito said.

"Fuck," Mat said. He gently pulled Tito close and let Tito tuck his head in the crook of his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"I just don't know how to get over it," Tito said. "How do you move past a relationship that never even began?"

"Find someone else, I guess," Mat said. And there was the nail in the coffin. Maybe it wasn't fair that Tito was hurt by Mat's words. If he'd come out and said that he had feelings for Mat, he knew that Mat would be kinder, more sensitive, but that wouldn't help Tito get over him. Here Mat was giving him explicit directions to move on. "There are tons of girls in New York who would love to hook up with you, I don't see a problem with that as long as you're up front with them."

Tito laughed dryly, "Yeah, maybe."

 

There was a gay club in Manhattan, far enough away from Tito's home that he didn't have to worry about being recognized. It was against his better judgement to go, but they were having an under 21 night and many college kids straight and gay would go on those nights. It wasn't like Tito hadn't been to a club like this before. In juniors a couple of his friends from the team went just to see what it was like, the closest experience they could get to actually clubbing. It was well-known in the NHL anyways that some straight players would go to these types of clubs and bars anyways just for the privacy and to avoid being flirted with. If Tito was recognized or if there was a photo, he could always say he just wanted a private night out.

The bouncer took one look at him and marked dark 'x's on the back of Tito's hands. He almost wanted to say that there was no need for it, he wasn't planning on drinking anytime soon. The music was loud, almost pounding against the walls and Tito headed to order a Coke. He was waiting for his drink when he felt someone come up near him.

"Usually people only come out here for one of two reasons: to have fun or to forget, and it doesn't look like you're having fun," the man said. Tito turned to see a guy around his age- definitely one of the college students that took advantage of these things- and was a little surprised that someone had approached him. He was lean, with dark blond hair and an easy smile.

"Sorry, I'm not interested," Tito said with a wan smile.

"Hm? Got someone at home?"

Tito laughed dryly, "No, that's kind of the problem. I've been hung up on someone for too long." 

"Well, you're in the right place to get over him."

"I'm not... nothing serious," Tito said.

"I got that, but doesn't it feel really good to be flirted with, even if it's just for the time being. It's always nice to know that someone's interested."

"Are you?" Tito asked.

"Would I be talking to you if I wasn't?" the man asked.       

Tito smiled, "Can I at least get your name?"

"Peter," he said.

"I'm Anthony," Tito introduced himself.

"Wanna dance?"

Tito let himself be led onto the dance floor and let Peter's hand rest gently on his lower back. Here, in the middle of the crowd everybody was wrapped up in their own world. Their hips ground closer, pressed up against each other as they tried to get as close as possible. And as Peter moved in to kiss him, Tito let him. It wasn't love, it wasn't even really like, but it certainly felt good to have someone interested in him, even if it was just in passing.


	23. Chapter 23

     Tito frowned when he looked in the mirror and saw the bruises that littered up his shoulder and the side of his neck. They were faint enough, that when examined under dim lighting could pass as a shadow, but Tito knew the locker room lights wouldn’t be so forgiving. If he had longer hair like Scotty used to have, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but his haircut was too short to obscure anything.

He sighed, maybe if he got changed quickly enough he’d be spared from his teammates’ scrutinizing gazes. He hadn’t minded last night when Peter had pressed him up against a dimly lit hallway and kissed him. It felt good, he felt wanted and even though Peter had been relatively gentle, there was still evidence from last night.

 _Hey, it was really great to meet you last night_.

Tito looked at the message that he’d received when he woke up from Peter and smiled. They’d exchanged numbers before Tito left the club, having already decided that he was going to leave alone but Peter had been okay with that.

“Look, I don’t want to give you the wrong impression,” Tito had said as he handed over his phone.

“And what would that be?” Peter asked.

“I had a lot of fun tonight, I really did, but I’m not… I can’t do anything serious,” Tito said.        

Peter chuckled, “You’ve said that about three times now, I got it.”

“I just don’t want to lead you on,” Tito said.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I’m not exactly looking to settle down either,” Peter said.

“Yeah?”

Peter shrugged, “If it happens with the right person, you know, I’m not going to say no, but I’m twenty, we’re in New York, I’m okay with keeping things casual.”

For a moment, not the first time that evening, Tito’s thoughts flickered back to Mat. He was pretty sure if Mat wanted to drop everything and move in together Tito wouldn’t say no. But then again, he was pretty sure he was willing to do anything for Mat. There had been a sense of guilt weighing him all evening when he thought back to Mat and wished Peter was him. Every time that he was brought back to the realization that Peter was the one right in front of him, Tito just pulled him closer and kissed him a little harder. He hadn’t regretted it last night, but he certainly regretted it when he realized what his teammates would say.

 

He tried to get to the locker room a little earlier and changing into his gear without anyone noticing, but by the time he’d arrived Anders, Ebs, and Mat were all there. He pulled off his shirt and heard a wolf-whistle from behind. “Awwww… our little rookie’s all grown up,” Anders said with a laugh.

“Fuck off,” Tito said nervously rubbing at the bruises.

Everyone’s attention turned towards him and Tito hurried to pull on his padding and jersey. “It’s no big deal,” Tito said. If only they were in different places, maybe he would have been able to pass them off as hockey bruises, but he was caught.

He turned to look at Mat who was looking at Tito with a mix of approval and happiness. This is after all what he’d suggested, Tito was just taking his advice. He wasn’t sure what he had wanted Mat’s reaction to be, he wasn’t even sure if he had wanted Mat to know that he’d taken him up on his advice, but maybe.

“She really got you, huh?” Mat asked.

“Uh, I guess,” Tito replied. He noticed the looks on Seids and Ebs’s faces. By now, he was almost certain that Dennis knew that he wasn’t straight even though Seids was too nice to ever actually confront him about it or tell anyone. Even with what had happened between them, Tito knew that Ebs wouldn’t tell anyone, but they both seemed surprised that Mat had used female pronouns.

There was a difference between protecting someone’s orientation and truly not knowing and there was no hint that Mat had any idea.

His teammates headed on the ice but Jordan seemed to linger around a little longer until it was just the two of them.

“ _Her_ , huh?” Ebs asked.

“Yeah,” Tito said.

“Hm…” Ebs said.

“What?” Tito snapped.

“Nothing, just wondering how long you thought this could go on?” Ebs asked.

“You’re not going to say anything,” Tito said.

“No, but come on, Mat will find out and the longer you wait it’ll be worse for you.”

“Isn’t it better that Mat doesn’t know, for both of us?” Tito asked.

Ebs shrugged, “Like I said, you’re not competition, so whether he knows or doesn’t know that you’re gay has no effect on me. But don’t use me as an excuse for your fear.”

“What?”

“You can tell yourself it’s because of me and my relationship with Mat that you don’t want to tell him all you want, but at the end of the day, it’s because you’re afraid because once he knows, that last little bit of hope that he would choose you will vanish and you won’t have any more excuses. And then when Mat finds out, he’ll wonder why you didn’t tell him, why you didn’t trust him because every day since you’ve known about him, about us has been an opportunity that you haven’t taken. And how do you think he’ll feel knowing that his best friend that he confided in all alone hasn’t trusted him with this?”

“That’s an awful lot of consideration for someone who doesn’t care about Mat,” Tito said.

“I care about Mat, of course I care about Mat,” Ebs said.

“You didn’t care about him enough to tell him about Taylor,” Tito said.

“He knows now,” Ebs said, “Thanks to you. But seriously, I think you should tell him, the sooner the better.”

“Why are you saying this?” Tito asked.

Ebs sighed, “Because I did hurt him with the whole Taylor thing, and I don’t want you to hurt him as well in the same way. He doesn’t deserve

Tito nodded and headed out without any promise of following Jordan’s advice. Even if it was made with good intentions, he didn’t want to tell Mat anytime soon. Why? Because he knew that Ebs was right. He knew that he was postponing it out of fear, it wasn’t about Mat or his reaction, it was all about being rejected again.

             

 _Can we meet up later?_ Tito texted Peter after practice.

_Two days in a row? I must have left a lasting impression._

_Please?_

_Uh, I’d say yes, but my roommates are home. So we’d have to go to your place._

_Fine_. Tito said and texted him his address.

When it was five minutes after eight, Tito began rethinking everything. What if Peter didn’t show up? What if he knew who Tito was? But then the buzzer to his apartment rang and Tito knew it was Peter.

“Sorry, the transit was a little crowded so I had to miss-” Peter began apologizing when Tito opened the door.

“I don’t care,” Tito said, “You came.”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Peter asked.

“I thought you might be having second thoughts?” Tito said.

“You really don’t do this often, do you?” Peter asked with a soft smile. “I wanted to see you.”            

“Me too,” Tito said and kissed him. “Yeah, I wanted to see you.”


	24. Chapter 24

      Tito woke up to an uncomfortable heat and an arm draped over him. It took him a second to remember that had stayed over. During the night, Peter had scooted closer to Tito and wrapped and arm over him. Normally, Tito wouldn’t have minded but coupled with the heat in his apartment. “Hey,” Tito said as he checked the clock. Peter grumbled slightly as he woke up.

      “I have to go to work soon,” Tito said.

      “It’s too early,” Peter said.

      “Well, I don’t get to control that, sorry. Did you want to eat breakfast before we go, though?” Tito asked.

      “I didn’t know that that was on the table,” Peter said.

      Tito just chuckled as he pulled on a T-shirt, “Who have you been sleeping with?”

      “No, just you said you wanted to keep it simple,” Peter said as he sat up, fully awaked now.

      “I do, but it’s just breakfast, it’s hardly marriage,” Tito said, “And don’t expect much, okay? But I can make eggs and toast without making you sick, so there’s that.”

      “How are you still single?” Peter asked.

      Tito shrugged, “Apparently making eggs in the morning isn’t enough to be considered boyfriend material. I do, though, have to go to work soon, so we got to get moving.”

      He let Peter get up a little slower and headed to make breakfast. He’d cooked for Mat before on the nights he’d stayed over in the guest room, but this was different. Peter walked out of the bedroom wearing boxers and one of Tito’s T-shirts that hung loosely off of Peter’s shoulders.

      “Sorry,” Peter said, “I just kind of grabbed your shirt, hope it was okay.”

      “It’s fine, besides it looks good on you,” Tito said with a foreign feeling of affection at seeing Peter in one of his shirts.

      “So you work?” Peter asked and Tito realized that they’d never covered the topic of his job.

      “Yeah, um, I’m a hockey player,” Tito said.

      “Are you good?” Peter asked.

      “Enough to play professionally,” Tito said, “Is it a problem?”

      Peter smiled and shook his head, “Is it a problem that I’m a student?”

      “Not at all,” Tito said.

      “I’m going to be honest, though, I don’t really know much about hockey,” Peter said.

      “That’s fine, I can teach you if you want,” Tito said, “But to be honest it’s nice to be around someone who’s life doesn’t revolve around hockey.”

      “Is that what yours revolves around?” Peter asked.

      “For the past fifteen years or so, yeah,” Tito said, “We have a pretty small window of time, fifteen years, maybe twenty if you’re lucky, to play professionally, so I guess you have to know early on

      “That must be scary,” Peter said.

      Tito shrugged, “It’s all I’ve ever known, and my brother followed the same path so I really don’t have anything to compare it to.”

      “I mean, I didn’t know I wanted to be a linguistics major until the summer before my freshman year,” Peter said, “I can’t imagine knowing what I wanted to do since I was four years old.”

      “It doesn’t always work,” Tito shrugged, “I’m just really lucky that it worked for me.”

      They chattered for a little while as they ate their eggs. Tito kept a careful eye on the time to make sure he wouldn’t be late, but he enjoyed this. This, whatever he had with Peter was easy. Peter respected his job but wasn’t overly interested in it. They didn’t just talk about hockey and listening to Peter made Tito feel like he was part of the college experience that he’d forgone.

      “I have a class at eleven,” Peter said, “God, the professor is so boring, but it’s a major class.”

      “Real life awaits both of us then,” Tito said and grabbed their dishes, “Are you going to uber back?”

      “Nah, I’ll probably just take the subway. I have to do some reading anyways before class.”

      “I’d usually take you back home…”

      “But you have practice, don’t worry I understand,” Peter smiled and kissed Tito, “I’ll get dressed, okay?”

      Tito started washing the dishes while Peter got dressed when his phone rang. Mat’s name appeared in the caller ID. If Peter had been in the room, Tito would have ignored it, but since he was alone, he figured it wouldn’t be rude if he kept it short.

      “Be ready in ten,” Mat said.

      “What?”  
      “I’m coming to pick you up,” Mat said.

      “We didn’t have plans, did we?” Tito said.

      “No, but I figured I’d pick you up,” Mat said.

      “Okay, just give me fifteen,” Tito said. He hadn’t expected Mat to come today and worse yet, he didn’t want Mat to meet Peter. It’d be hard to explain who Peter was and why Peter was there without telling Mat he was gay, and in a selfish, possessive way, Tito wanted to keep Peter to himself.

      “Are you okay?” Peter asked when he came back out.

      “Yeah, I’m fine,” Tito said.

      “Want to head out then?” Peter asked.

      “Yeah, sounds good,” Tito replied.

      They went downstairs in the elevator together with Tito’s bag over his shoulder.

      “Uh, there’s a party on campus this weekend,” Peter said, “I know it’s probably not your thing, but I was wondering if you might want to go.”

      This weekend. Saturday. The Islanders were in St. Louis, “I’m so sorry, I’m going to be out of town.”

      “Right, no big deal, I thought I’d ask,” Peter said thought the disappointment was written on his face.

      “But, um, we’re playing a game at home on Wednesday, so did you want to come?” Tito asked.

      “Really?”

      “Yeah, I’ll set aside two tickets for you, so you can bring a friend,” Tito said.

      “Yeah, that would be great, thanks.”

      “Um, just can you keep, you know, us a secret?” Tito asked.

      Something flicked across Peter’s face, “Yeah, sure. I get it.”

      “Thanks,” Tito said and kissed Peter right before the doors opened to the lobby.

      “Shit, I forgot my tape in my room,” Tito lied, “I have to go back up, sorry.”

      “It’s okay, don’t worry,” Peter said, “I’ll see you later, then.”

      Tito waved goodbye and felt the slightest bit of guilt at having lied to Peter. He waited a few minutes after Peter had walked out of sight before he left. It shouldn’t have made a difference if he was seen with Peter, it shouldn’t make a difference if Mat saw them together, but to Tito it mattered.

 

      “Hey,” Tito said as he walked towards Mat’s car.

      “Running late today?” Mat asked as he opened the passenger door for Tito.

      “Yeah, I kind of slept in a little bit,” Tito said.

      “Trying to pull a Sanger?” Mat asked.

      “I’d have made it,” Tito said.

      “You need me to keep you on track,” Mat said.

      “Yeah, yeah,” Tito said, “What would I do without you?”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S BEEN 129399055 years, but I'm back. Thanks to everyone for continuing and for the gentle nudges that have encouraged me to continue this. I hope you like the new update and I'm hoping to have more regularity in the future.

       Tito was looking forward to Peter coming to the game in a way he hadn’t expected. It had been a while since his parents had come to watch him play and even longer since Frank had been able to watch. He hadn’t gotten to see Peter again before they left on the road trip, but they’d texted throughout the day as Tito made sure the tickets would be reserved for their next home game.  

 

       Tito had expected there to be a lull in contact with Peter while on the road trip, but he kept getting snaps from Peter ever so often. They were mundane, nothing special, just glimpses of Peter’s life that had continued while Tito was out of New York, but Tito smiled when the notification popped up on his phone.

       For some reason, he wanted to keep Peter a secret. So much of his life was exposed, not only to the fans and the management, but also to his teammates. Peter was his, at least for now. “Snapchat?” Mat asked as Tito took a quick selfie with a stupid expression on his face to send back to Peter.

       “Huh? Yeah, a friend,” Tito said as he finished sending the picture. 

       “From Montreal?” Mat asked.

       “No, New York actually,” Tito said.

       “Anyone I know?” Mat asked.

       “No, he’s a friend outside of hockey,” Tito said. Mat looked at him curiously, but Tito ignored him. He didn’t owe Mat an answer.

            There was a picture that Peter sent the night of the party. It looked like the standard college party, college kids who didn’t yet know how to drink. Peter had his arm around a friend’s shoulder who clearly hadn’t noticed that Peter was taking a picture. _Wish you were here_. Peter had typed out on top of the photo.

 _I wish I’d been there, too_. Tito replied. 

           

           “Hey, do you ever wish that you’d gone to university?” Tito asked Mat as they relaxed in bed after a day of traveling.

            “No,” Mat said incredulously. It was as if the thought was heretic. They were hockey players. They had always wanted to be hockey players. For most of them, college was only a stop en route to the NHL, but it wasn’t the goal. Sometimes, though, Tito wondered if it would have been different. He didn’t know if he would go back and do things differently, but he did know that people like Peter had different worries. They were largely shielded from public scrutiny and immune to criticism. And they could just have fun. “Why do you?”

            Tito shrugged, “I don’t know, I think it could have been fun.”

            “What would you have majored in?” Mat asked.

            “I don’t know, I’m just saying, the whole experience would have been nice,” Tito said.

            “So, you’d give up hockey?” Mat asked.

            “Or play in college,” Tito said, “I think it’d be nice to have some normalcy.”

            “We’re not normal though,” Mat said.

            “God, I know, I was just asking,” Tito said, “Why are you reading more into this than it is?”

            “I’m sorry,” Mat said, “You’ve just never brought this up before.”

            “It’s not, like, a _thing_ , I was just saying,” Tito said and reached for his coat.

            “Where are you going?” Mat asked.

            “I don’t know, I’ll be back, I promise, I just…I can’t be here right now,” Tito said.

            “Tito,” Mat called after him, but Tito was already heading out. _This_ was why Tito didn’t tell him about Peter because he didn’t understand. Mat was myopic. He only had hockey in mind; he only had Jordan in sight, nothing else mattered, but then again for Mat his future in the NHL was certain.  

           

            A couple of the guys saw Tito leave and looked at him curiously but didn’t ask. Tito would be back before curfew so it would be fine. To be fair, Tito rarely went out in foreign cities let alone without Mat, but here he was looking up the nearest coffee shop to sit at. There was one closing in about an hour just two blocks away so Tito made his way to the quiet hipster place that was sparsely filled.

            “I’ll just take a cup of whatever’s brewed,” Tito said as he pulled out his credit card and waited for the steaming cup to be put in front of him. He fiddled with his phone at a table by the window, watching as people passed without a care in the world. Mat had already texted him twice once to apologize and the second time to ask where he went. Tito frowned. The apology seemed hollow since Mat didn’t even understand what the problem was. Instead, Tito dialed Peter.

            Peter answered on the third ring, “Hey.”

            “How was your hangover today?” Tito asked.

            “Anthony, hey, how are you?” Peter asked.

            Tito sighed, “I’m alright, how are you.”

            “Woke up with an awful headache, but I’m okay,” Peter said and Tito could almost hear the smile through the phone, “Is everything alright?”

            “It’s stupid,” Tito said, “I got in a fight with my best friend and we have to room together so I headed out of the hotel for a while.”

            “Was it serious?” Peter asked.

            “I don’t think so, we’ve been through worse, we’ve just been fighting a lot more than usual lately, I don’t know. I just kind of wanted to talk to someone who was away from it all.”

            “Well, lucky for you, you called me. You missed a hell of a party last night,” Peter said.

            “Yeah, I saw the pictures,” Tito said.

            “They didn’t even show half of it,” Peter said before going into a story about how his roommate ended up blowing the fuse in the apartment and getting the party shut down. Tito laughed and was glad he had called by the time the barista kicked him out.

            “I have to head back, but, uh, thanks,” Tito said.

            “You’re welcome.”  
            “You’re still coming on Friday, right?” Tito asked.

            “I’ve been looking forward to it,” Peter said.

            “Good, and, uh, you should bring your roommate,” Tito said.

            “Are you sure?” Peter asked.

            “Yeah, I want to put a face with all the stories,” Tito said.

 

            As promised he made it back to the room before curfew and saw Mat sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for him. “Hey,” Tito said.

            “I was worried,” Mat said.

            “I just went to a coffeeshop not too far away,” Tito said.

            “I’m sorry about earlier,” Mat said, “I just-”

            “What?”

            “I just never want you to regret this,” Mat said, “I know it’s not always easy, but I can’t imagine you not doing this, not being here, and I don’t want to either.”

            “I wasn’t planning on quitting,” Tito said as he sat down next to Mat, “I love my life, I love being an Islander, I love playing with you. I wouldn’t change any of that, but it’s normal to wonder sometimes. After all, hockey doesn’t last forever. Maybe I could go back to school afterwards.”

            “And be a thirty-five-year-old freshman?” Mat asked with a smile.

            “Something like that,” Tito said.  

            “Would we still room together?” Mat asked.

            “Nah,” Tito said, “But I promise I’d visit.”


	26. Chapter 26

   The rest of the trip passed rather uneventfully. He knew that some of the veterans were curious about the argument that he and Mat had had, but it wasn’t affecting their play and they’d patched things up well enough that nobody intervened. Still, Tito’s own words echoed in his mind: they’ve been fighting a lot more than usual. Things were fine. They weren’t good but Tito was pretty sure that as long as he was still in love with Mat they wouldn’t be ‘good’. He tried to ignore the times that Mat slipped out of their room with a vague excuse, they were always coincidentally at the same times that Jordan was missing from any team hangouts. There were times that Tito caught himself close to saying something: that missing video game nights was affecting the team dynamic. JT, though, didn’t have a problem, most of the other guys didn’t either and Tito knew it was just jealousy.

   For the first time in a while, he was relieved to be back home and have some natural distance with Mat. They still saw each other every day, and Tito was still witness to the gravity between Mat and Jordan at practice, but it was a little easier.

 

   As Friday approached, Peter texted him more frequently, his enthusiasm about going to the game making Tito even more excited. It all honesty, he was a little nervous for the game. He hadn’t felt this way since his parents saw him play his first game. Having someone he _knew_ added pressure, more than any other game. “Did you want to meet the team afterwards?” Tito had asked.

   “Is that okay?” Peter asked.

   “Yeah, I mean, I’ll just say that you’re a friend, but we usually grab drinks afterwards and you’re more than welcome to come, you and your roommate,” Tito said.

   “Yeah, I’d love to meet them,” Peter said.

   “Okay, I’ll let you know the details after the game, then,” Tito said.

   He didn’t get a chance to meet up with Peter or his roommate before the game, but before warm ups, Tito had gotten a photo from Peter of him and his roommate in their seats. _Definitely rooting for the Coyotes_.

 _I’ll try and have a good game for you_. Tito replied.

   Tito scanned the crowd during the warm ups, looking for Peter in the crowd, but as the seats were filling in, it was impossible to spot him.

   “Looking for someone?” Jordan asked as he glided up next to Tito.

   “Uh, a couple of friends are here,” Tito said.

   “From Quebec?”

   “No, from around here.”

   “You should bring them out for drinks later,” Jordan said.

   “I was planning on it,” Tito said with a smile.

   “Cool,” Jordan said.

   Despite the slight distraction that Peter had posed during warmups, Tito was all business after the national anthem. Something just clicked, their line was connecting passes and Mat was setting Jordan and him up for beautiful chances.

   They got a two on one in the middle of the second and Tito found himself racing down the ice trying to catch up with Mat. It was almost magnetic the way Mat’s pass found his stick and before he could realize it, the puck landed in the back of the net.

   Mat collided with him against the board, “Fuck yeah!”

   Shortly after, Tito felt Jordan, Johnny, and Nick collide into their hug.

   They won the game, and Tito felt satisfied that he kept his promise to Peter: they had shown him a good game.

   “Hey, is it okay if some friends join us for drinks?” Tito asked in the locker room, though he was sure that the guys wouldn’t mind. He texted Peter the info for a bar that they’d gone to before. It was far enough that after games it was still sparsely packed, and Anders knew the owner and could afford them some privacy.

 

   Most of the older guys opted out, but there was still a nice number of guys going. Mat, Jordan, Nick, Anders were all among the first to arrive, though others straggled in later. Peter had texted Tito to let him know that they were there and Tito left the private room that they were in to go find him.

   “Hey,” Tito said.

   “Hi,” Peter said, “Uh, this is Mike, my roommate. Mike, this is my friend, Anthony.”

   “How did you guys like the game?” Tito asked.

   “It was great, Mike knows more about hockey than I do, so he was explaining a lot to me, but that goal that you scored was amazing.”

   “Are you an Islanders fan?” Tito asked Mike.

   “Uh, is it bad if I say ‘no’?”

   Tito laughed, “Not unless you say the Rangers.”

   Mike’s silence just affirmed that.

   “I’m kidding,” Tito said, “I grew up a fan of the Canadiens, myself. Um, these are my teammates, and guys, this is my friend Peter and his roommate, Mike.”

   Mat just seemed to stare at them while the other guys introduced themselves.

   Peter sat down next to Tito, with Mike flanking his other side.

   “So do you play hockey?” Mat asked.

   “No, not at all,” Peter said with a laugh.

   “How did you guys meet?” Mat asked.

   Peter glanced over at Tito, “Anthony and I met at a club and hit it off.”

   “Huh,” Mat said.

 _Be nice_. Tito mouthed.

   “Uh, are you a student?” Anders asked, thankfully changing the subject.

   Peter seemed a little more relaxed as he talked about his major, Mike jumped in and Tito was grateful for the change in subject. Peter had warned him that he didn’t know much about hockey and Tito was glad that Anders had drifted the conversation to something that he was more comfortable with.

   They were there for about an hour before Mike stood up. “Well, I better go, I have class early tomorrow, but it was great to meet you all,” Mike said, “Are you staying?” he turned to Peter.

   “Yeah, I’ll stay here for a little while,” Peter said.

   “Okay, see you later, then.”

   “You had a great game,” Peter said as he turned to Mat.

   Mat just shrugged, “Thanks, it was okay. We had a couple of turnovers and a couple of unwarranted hooking penalties in the second, but it was a win.”

   Peter pasted a smile on his face and Tito could see that he was completely confused.

   “Uh, I’m glad you guys finally met, Mat and I’ve been friends for seven years now, I think,” Tito said.

   “Me too, it’s great to put a face to a name,” Peter said.

   “I unfortunately haven’t heard too much about you,” Mat said frostily, and by the way he winced, Tito was pretty sure that Ebs had pinched him.

   “Yeah, because the last time I even remotely mentioned him you flipped out,” Tito snapped.

   Mat winced, and Tito glared at him.

   “Sorry, I’m just a little tired from the game,” Mat apologized.

   “It’s fine,” Peter said. But it wasn’t fine. Tito knew that they’d be having a conversation about this later.

   “I’m getting tired myself, are you about ready to head out?” Tito asked Peter.

   “Sure,” Peter said looking slightly relieved.  

   “I’m pretty sure Mat hates me,” Peter said when the left after saying their goodbyes.

   “He’s just being an asshole for some reason,” Tito said, “Did you want me to take you home or…”

   “Or go back to your place?” Peter finished.

   “Yeah, that’s always an option,” Tito said.

   “Well, we could celebrate that goal,” Peter said with a smile and followed Tito to his car.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back at school/work so I'm hoping to update A FIC once a week, though this semester is going to be crazy. This was a doozy of a chapter to write, but I hope you like it and thanks for all the lovely comments on the last chapter. As always if there's a Tito/Mat fic you'd like to read, don't hesitate to hmu on Tumblr.

   Tito let himself be pressed back on his bed when he took Peter home. He was still in his game day suit, having shed his jacket at the door and let Peter take control. “You looked so good out there,” Peter said as he unbuttoned Tito’s pants.

   Peter leaned over and kissed him, dipping a hand down the front of Tito’s boxers. “Yeah?” Tito replied, slowly forgetting how to speak as Peter took him into his mouth. Peter knew exactly what he was doing watching as he made Tito lose control.

   It was a different situation for Tito. He’d never had someone he could somewhat expect to be a constant. He’d never had anyone to come home to after games, and though that wasn’t what Peter was, he’d gotten a glimpse of it. He’d rarely picked up after games, the paranoia of being a public figure was enough to keep him from hooking up, but with Peter it was safe. He knew that Peter didn’t care that he was a hockey player. He trusted that Peter wasn’t going to take incriminating photos and sell them to Deadspin, and that was a comfort that he hadn’t had before.

   “Shit,” Tito exclaimed as he came. Peter pulled away and watched Tito come down from his orgasm grinning when Tito opened his eyes and

   “Nope, you’re too tired,” Peter said as he gently pushed Tito’s hand aside.

   “But you didn’t come,” Tito said.

   “This was a reward for that goal,” Peter said, “Besides, I knew you were tired, I wasn’t expecting anything in return.”

   Tito smiled and pulled Peter up the bed, “Sleep over though?”

   “Sure, can I borrow some clothes, though?”  
   “Yeah,” Tito said, “Pick whatever you want.”

   Tito went to get cleaned up in the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. This was good. It was fine. But a part of him, the part of him that he hated wondered what it would be like if Mat was here. There were no feelings between him and Peter. They were two friends who fucked, but with Mat it could be different. Mat wasn’t here, though. Peter was. Tito had to remind himself of that as he washed his face and headed back into the room.   “You look good,” Tito said after Peter had stripped down to his boxers.

   Peter grinned, “You’re pretty hot yourself.”

   “I can’t believe you just said that,” Tito said with a laugh.

   “What? You’ve got to hear that a couple of times a day at least,” Peter said as Tito crawled into bed next to him.

   “I don’t,” Tito said.

   “Well you should because it’s true,” Peter said.

   “I think you vastly overestimate my popularity,” Tito said, “Mat, Anders, and Jordan, they’re the ones that hear that stuff all the time.”

   “Hm…Is Mat really your best friend?” Peter asked.

   “Yeah, well, at least here,” Tito said, “I wish that tonight had been better.”

   “Is-” Peter started but cut himself off.

   “What?” Tito asked as he was starting to lose the fight against encroaching sleep.

   “Nevermind,” Peter said, “Thanks for inviting me to your game, though. It was a lot of fun.”

   “Thanks for coming and, you know…” Tito said.

 

   Tito was awoken by the sound of someone walking around the apartment. Peter was probably making breakfast, but when Tito rolled over, he felt Peter’s solid back next to him. He bolted up suddenly aware that someone was in his apartment.

   “Stay here,” Tito whispered as he shook Peter awake.

   “What?” Peter asked in confusion.

   Tito cautiously opened the door, confident enough in his fighting abilities that he could fend off any intruder. When he walked into the living room, though, he saw Mat fumbling with the coat hook that he’d knocked over.

   “Jesus, Mat, you can’t just come in here,” Tito said as he relaxed.

   “I have a key, besides it’s not like you had time to pick up a girl last night,” Mat said.

   “That’s for emergencies, I’m going to regret giving that to you,” Tito said, now getting nervous that Peter was still in the bedroom.

   “Well, this is an emergency, of sorts,” Mat said.

   “What is so important that it couldn’t wait until practice?” Tito asked.

   “Last night,” Mat started.

   “Great, you want to talk about your behavior last night,” Tito said.

   “Look, I was an ass,” Mat said, “But I don’t like him.”

   Tito scoffed, “I didn’t bring him to see if you’d _like_ him, I brought him because he’s a good friend of mine and I wanted him to meet everybody.”

   “Can’t you see he’s using you?” Mat asked. “Do you honestly think he knows nothing about hockey that he just happened to meet you at a club when he did?”

    “He knows nothing about hockey,” Tito exclaimed, coming to Peter’s defense.

   “Are you sure?” Mat asked.

   “Am I sure that my friend isn’t in some kind of long con, to what? Infiltrate the Islanders? Yeah, I’m certain. And you know what? Other guys have brought their friends along and as far as I know you haven’t given them the third degree.”

   “But how long have you known this guy? A few weeks? A month? I just don’t get it,” Mat said, “And I really just don’t want you to get hurt.”

   “You think he’s the one who’d hurt me?” Tito asked, “He’s not. You’re the one who’s hurting me, why do you think I didn’t mention him to you? Because the last time I brought him up you got so defensive about hockey. And yesterday you were such an asshole and he did nothing wrong.”

   Mat flinched, “I’m sorry.”

   “Save it, just leave,” Tito said, “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you need to fix it because you’re being really unfair to me. I don’t care if you don’t like him, I hoped that you would, but whatever, but I like him. And if you really want me not to get hurt you should respect that.”

   “Tito,” Mat said.

   “Just go, I’ll see you later,” Tito said. The fight left him as Mat walked out, and instead he just felt tired. This was a continuation of the fight they’d been having for a few weeks now and Tito just wished things were different.

   “Sorry about that,” Tito said as he headed back in the bedroom.

   Peter’s jaw was clenched tightly and it was then that Tito realized he’d overheard everything, “It’s fine, I should go anyways.”

   “No, stay, I’m sorry about what he said,” Tito said, “It was uncalled for and I don’t believe any of that.”

   “Is that how they all see me? Some poor opportunist student just trying to befriend any rich athlete?”

   “No,” Tito said, “I don’t even think Mat believes what he was saying, he’s just been picking fights with me and I’m really sorry that you got drawn into this.”

   “I don’t get it,” Peter said, “Is it the fact that I’m gay, then?”  

   “He’s not homophobic,” Tito said, “I know he’s not.”

   “But he doesn’t even know about you, does he?” Peter asked.

   Tito’s jaw clenched, “I haven’t gotten around to telling him.”

   “Is he really your best friend, then? If you haven’t told him about this part of you, do you even really trust him?”

   “I do, I trust him completely,” Tito said starting to get annoyed with Peter.

   “Oh-,” Peter said.

   “What?” Tito asked.

   “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Peter asked, “I thought the only reason that you wouldn’t be out to him is if he’d reject you, but even if he’s not homophobic, if you tell him…”

   Tito swallowed, “Look, this isn’t a thing, okay? Mat’s not homophobic and he’s being an asshole for reasons that I still don’t understand. I like you. I like what we have, okay? I trust you,” Tito said. “Mat’s going to be a constant in my life, that won’t change, but I want you to stick around as well.”

   Peter smiled a grim smile, “Okay.”

   “Okay? So breakfast?” Tito asked.

   “I really should go,” Peter said and walked away, “I’ll see you sometime next week then?”

   “Sure,” Tito said, but as Peter left, Tito knew that things weren’t the same. And for as much as Mat was partially responsible, Tito knew that he was also at fault. Peter wasn’t wrong, though. Mat couldn’t reject him as long as he didn’t know, but if Tito told him and Mat was still with Jordan… well, that was worse.


	28. Chapter 28

  “I’m sorry,” Mat said in the locker room just loud enough so Tito could hear.

  “I’m sick of this,” Tito said focusing on taping his stick.

  “I screwed up,” Mat said.

  “We have practice, we’ll talk about this later,” Tito said as he brushed past Mat. Their connection on the ice was missing. Tito noticed Weight was getting irritated when they kept missing passes between them. He almost ran into Mat when he cut in front of him, falling over to avoid hitting him when the coach’s whistle blew.

  “Did you forget to play hockey in the past day?” He asked. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He turned to Tito, “You’re off his line tonight.” Tito wanted to protest, he wanted to say that it was just as much Mat’s fault as it was his own, but it was pointless. He just clenched his jaw and got back to practicing with his new linemates, at least for the night.  

  “Fuck,” Tito muttered. A few of the veterans looked towards him when he stalked down the corridor to the locker room but left him alone. He took longer than usual to head back to the locker room, trying to postpone the inevitable conversation. He had a feeling that even if the rest of the guys had left, Mat would be waiting for him.

  Sure enough, when he got back, Mat was sitting in his stall, hunched over and hands clasped it front of him.

  “Hey,” Tito said.

  “Hi,” Mat said.

  “He thought you were homophobic,” Tito said.

  “What?” Mat looked up from behind his hands.

  “Yeah, and of course I didn’t _tell him_ , but he thought you were homophobic, that’s how awful you were yesterday.”

  “I didn’t- I mean I wondered, but I didn’t _know_ ,” Mat said, “And you know that it’s not about that, right?”

  “Yeah, I know, but I had to defend your fucking bad behavior because I didn’t want him to think you were homophobic, you’re just an asshole,” Tito said.

  “I’m sorry for putting you in that position,” Mat said.

  “Are you? I don’t even know what’s going on with you lately,” Tito said, “I just want to get back to us.”

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me… just everything is going to shit,” Mat said.

  Tito’s face scrunched up.

  “You, this fucking season, everything…” Mat said, “Everything is just all wrong.”

  “There’s next year, this is a rebuilding year and we both knew it, and as with me, I’m not going anywhere. Sure, we’ve been fighting a lot, but we’re still friends, that’s not going to change,” Tito said as he sat down next to Mat.

  “I’ll try to like him,” Mat said, “I don’t trust him.”

  “Then trust me,” Tito said, “But I don’t know if it’ll really matter much now. I don’t know if he’s going to be around a lot anymore,” Tito said grimly.

  “Why?” Mat asked.

  “We had a fight,” Tito said, “Last night after we left.”

  “Because of me?” Mat asked.

  “Part of it,” Tito said, “But it wasn’t the only thing.”

  “I didn’t know,” Mat said.

  “It’s… whatever…” Tito said, he brushed his shoulder against Mat’s.  

  Mat stayed silent and Tito didn’t know what to do, so they just sat there for a few minutes. They used to be so good at filling the silence and despite Mat’s actions, Tito couldn’t help but feel partially responsible for what had happened between them. If only he hadn’t developed feelings then maybe none of this would have happened. Or maybe it was just the natural course of their relationship, that eventually they were bound to peter out.

 

  Tito headed home planning to take a nap still feeling like the tension between he and Mat was unresolved.

 _Can I come over?_ Peter had texted him.

 _Now?_ Tito replied. They usually met up in the evenings that Tito didn’t have a game or traveling and Peter was done with classes.

 _Yeah, if that’s okay_.

 _Sure_.

  Peter must have already been on his way because it was only fifteen minutes before Tito received a call to let Peter up.

  “Hey,” Tito said when Peter arrived.

  “Hi,” Peter said and greeted Tito with a kiss.

  “I was not expecting that,” Tito said with a smile.

  “Well, I got an interesting DM today,” Peter said, “from Mat.”

  “Oh God,” Tito rolled his eyes, “What did he do now?”

  “He apologized,” Peter said, “he was actually really nice about it.” Peter fished out his phone and pulled up the conversation from Instagram.

_Hi, It’s Mat Barzal, sorry about last night. I was a dick and I’m really sorry. And you should patch things up with Tito, he was pretty bummed about your fight._

“Apparently you were ‘pretty bummed’ about this morning,” Peter said with a smile.

  “It didn’t go like I wanted it,” Tito admitted.

  “He still doesn’t like me,” Peter said, “But he really cares about you, and I guess we both have that in common.”

  “You care about me?” Tito asked.

  “Yeah,” Peter said, “We’re friends, right?”

  “Yeah,” Tito said.

  “That’s what friends do,” Peter said simply and Tito grinned.

  “Since you’re here…” Tito said, “I think I have a favor to return.”

 

  Tito had ordered a pizza, too lazy to cook dinner for the two of them. He was in the middle of eating his third slice when his phone rang. _Mat_.

  “Guess what?” Mat asked, not even allowing Tito to finish greeting him.

  “What?”

  “I’m going to Worlds,” Mat said.

  “What?”

  “They just called me today and invited me to go,” Mat said.

  “Holy shit,” Tito said. Peter perked up in concern, but Tito quickly waved it away.

  “We’re celebrating tonight,” Mat said.

  “Are you already drunk?” Tito asked.

  “No, maybe,” Mat giggled on the other end of the line, “Come on, then we’ll celebrate when they call you.”

  “I’ll be over in a few,” Tito said, and he hung up the phone. “I have to go.”

  “Is everything okay?” Peter asked.

  “Yeah, just a team thing,” Tito said, “I’d invite you, but…”

  “It’s a team thing, I get it,” Peter said.

  “You can stay if you want,” Tito said.

  “Really?” Peter asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll only be gone a few hours,” Tito said and gave Peter the wi-fi password and free reign of the apartment.

  “That’s awfully trusting,” Peter said.

  “Well I figure you won’t steal everything in my apartment,” Tito said with a smile, “I’ll be back soon.”  


  The party was already in full swing at the Seidenbergs by the time that Tito arrived. He was pretty sure Rebecca had taken the kids out for the night so that the team would have full use of the house. It wasn’t really a party, it was more just a team gathering with lots of alcohol. He knew they’d all be hungover during practice tomorrow, but they were celebrating. Tito found Mat sitting squarely on Jordan’s lap, laughing at something he said. Mat was pretty drunk at this point, usually he and Jordan had enough sense to be private in front of the team, but today they were celebrating and his inhibitions were gone. Besides, the last couple of games were low-pressure. They weren’t going into the playoffs so they might as well celebrate any sort of good news. Not everyone was able to come with such short notice, but there was still a healthy group of guys. Tito watched as Mat turned Jordan’s head in his direction, kissing him passionately without even seeing that Tito had arrived.

  It was only when Dennis came over that Tito stopped staring. Something soured in his stomach and Tito swallowed thickly. It was only a few minutes later that Mat draped himself over Tito’s shoulders, “Hey, you’re here. When did you get here?”

  “Not that long ago,” Tito said.

  “You should have said ‘hi’.”

  “You seemed a little busy,” Tito said dryly.

  “Are you having fun?” Mat asked.

  “Yeah, it’s great,” Tito replied.

  “It’ll be you next,” Mat said and though Tito doubted it but arguing with a drunk Mat was useless and he didn’t want to see Mat stop smiling.

  “Yeah,” Tito said.

 

  He didn’t stay as long as he could have. He murmured a quick goodbye to Mat who was otherwise preoccupied with Jordan. The more Mat drank, the handsier he got with Jordan and Tito didn’t want to stick around to witness it.

  “How was it?” Peter asked when Tito arrived back home.

  Tito shrugged, “It was fine. It was nice.”

  Peter seemed to sense that wasn’t the full truth, but he didn’t pressure him. Instead he just wrapped Tito in a warm hug.

  “Hey, I was thinking..."

  "What?"  

  "What if we did this for real?” Peter asked.

  “What? Us?”

  “Yeah,” Peter said, “I really like you.”

  “I really like you, too,” Tito said and pasted a smile on his face.

  “So, do you want to try it out?” Peter asked.

  There were plenty of reasons that Tito should have said no. Peter knew, or at least suspected, that Tito loved Mat. Peter wasn’t part of the hockey world. It was one thing to be sleeping with a hockey player and another to be dating him. It probably wasn’t fair to say yes, but Tito just remembered how shitty he felt watching Mat and Jordan make out. So it wasn’t the right thing or the smart thing, but before Tito realized, he was kissing Peter and agreeing.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like the new update <3

Tito was at breakfast with Mat when the phone call came. His cell phone had buzzed with a call from an unknown number and he had half a mind to just ignore it but Mat just glared at him.

“Answer it,” Mat commanded.

“No,” Tito said.

“It could be the national team,” Mat said.

“It’s not…”

“Just answer the damn phone,” Mat said by the fourth ring, right before the call was about ready to go to voicemail.

“Hi, Anthony?” The voice on the other end asked. Tito didn’t recognize the voice.

“Yes,” he said with trepidation.

“I was calling to see if you were interested in joining Team Canada at Worlds this year?” The voice asked and Tito finally realized where he’d heard that voice before: the team manager for the national team.

“Yes, yes, oh my God,” Tito fumbled.

Mat perked up from across the table. Tito could tell he’d been listening to the conversation since the start of the phone call.

“Thank you so much,” Tito said as the manager promised to forward more details to his agent.  

“So…” Mat asked when Tito hung up from the phone call.

“I just asked to go to Worlds,” Tito said with a grin.

“I knew it!” Mat said, loud enough that people sitting nearby turned to look at them.

“Shh…” Tito laughed.

“This is going to be so great, you, me and Jordan,” Mat said.

Tito’s smile froze at hearing Jordan’s name, but he tried to suppress it. He was with Peter now. Mat didn’t matter in that way, “Yeah, wouldn’t want to be with anyone else.”  


On the way back to his apartment, Tito picked up his phone and dialed Peter. Peter was between classes and they didn’t have plans to meet up, but Tito couldn’t wait.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Peter asked knowing the phone call was out of their routine.

“Yeah, everything’s fine, everything’s really good actually,” Tito said.

“Yeah?”

“Um, I actually got called up to the Canadian National Team,” Tito said.

“What?” Peter asked.

“Yeah,” Tito said, “I was shocked.”

“I’m not,” Peter replied. “They’d be dumb not to have picked you.”

“Thanks,” Tito said.

“We should celebrate,” Peter said, “Mike and I’ll host the party, you can have a real college party experience.”

“Peter, I…”

“Not as boyfriends, okay,” Peter said, “I know how things are but I want to do something for you, to celebrate.”

“Okay,” Tito said and found himself agreeing.

 

They waited until Thursday to have the party. Most of Peter’s friends didn’t have classes on Friday, or if they did, the classes weren’t important. Friday happened to be one of the rare days that Tito had off from practice and games so he could afford the hangover in the morning that he was certain to get.

He showed up a few hours before people were set to head over the Peter’s apartment. So much of this was new to him, he was going to be meeting Peter’s friends for the first time, they were going to be doing the first things together as a couple even if it wasn’t official, and despite the anxiety that Tito had, he was excited.  

“Hey,” Peter said as he opened the door for Tito to his apartment and kissed him.

Tito was surprised, especially when he saw that Mike was there as well, but Mike seemed unfettered. Besides, Tito knew that Peter had told Mike about them but having someone know about them and having someone see them together was different.

“Hi Mike,” Tito said.

“Hi, congratulations,” Mike said.

“Thanks, and thanks for having the party,” Tito said.

“We were planning on having one anyways, you just gave us a good excuse.”

 

When people started to arrive, Peter made sure that Tito was okay. It was a party in part for him, but Tito knew a larger part was meeting Peter’s friends. A few recognized him, but Tito was grateful that they didn’t act weirdly around him. He wondered if Peter had given them a peptalk before to make sure that everyone was on the same page.

When Peter’s friends started talking about school and classes, Tito listened politely but got lost in the details. He saw Mike off to himself and took the chance to quietly step away.

“So I heard that you two are trying things out for real now,” Mike said after Tito settled next to him. Nobody was nearby; Tito had double checked.

“Yeah,” Tito said.

“Don’t hurt him,” Mike said.  

“What?” Tito asked.

“You know he’ll want more,” Mike said. “For now, it’s fine, you can take it slowly and that’s okay, but what happens if it becomes serious. Is he just going to go to team events as your ‘good friend’? Will he go on vacations on bye-week?”

“I mean…” Tito didn’t have a good answer. Things were different for him than for Peter. He couldn’t

“Do your friends even know?” Mike asked.

“They will,” Tito promised, but he could feel Mike’s judgment as the conversation continued.

“Look, I like you, but Peter’s my friend and if you hurt him…”

“I get it,” Tito said.

 “I hope so,” Mike said and Tito couldn’t help but be grateful that Peter had Mike as a friend. He knew that if things were different Francis or Mat would have been the ones giving Peter the shovel talk.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr at anechteechteliebe (main) or queenofbroadstreet (hockey). Always open to chat or share headcanons.
> 
> The one sided Mat/Jordan is that Mat has a crush on Jordan and it isn't reciprocated.


End file.
